Fathom Events and Open Road Films are teaming up to present Snowden Live at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, at various theaters around the country. (Locally, that means Stonecrest 22 and Concord Mills 24.) This special advance screening of Snowden will immediately be followed by a live conversation with director Oliver Stone (in NYC) and Edward Snowden (via satellite from Moscow).
Snowden, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the controversial whistleblower, begins its regular run Friday, Sept. 16.
To purchase tickets to this special screening, or for other information, go here.
Who's ready for some Hardcore action?
Fathom Events and STX Entertainment are teaming up to present Hardcore Henry: The Ultimate Fan Experience at 7 p.m. next Thursday, April 7, at various theaters around the country. (Locally, that means Stonecrest 22 and Concord Mills 24.)
Hardcore Henry has already been generating buzz for being shot entirely from a first-person perspective, and while the film doesn't open until April 8, folks who can't wait can catch this special pre-opening presentation. In addition to the movie, the event will include a post-screening broadcast of a Q&A session with writer-director Ilya Naishuller and actor Sharlto Copley (District 9). Those in attendance will also receive a limited edition Hardcore Henry comic book.
To purchase tickets, or for other information, go here.
Strong women and struggling teens are but two of the many themes to be found among the 150+ works being screened at the 18th Annual RiverRun International Film Festival, unwinding April 7-17 in Winston-Salem.
Formidable females are at the center of a large number of films this year, including the documentaries A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers (about three Bangladeshi women in an all-female police unit), Cameraperson (focusing on veteran cinematographer Kirsten Johnson) and Speed Sisters (examining the lives of five Palestinian women who make up an all-female race car team). Meanwhile, teenagers of both sexes seek to establish their own identities and make sense of the world around them in such efforts as The Roma Project (about a teen with unexplained powers), T-Rex (in which a 17-year-old strives to become the first woman to win the Olympic gold medal in boxing) and Titanic Boy (a documentary about a 13-year-old kid obsessed with the sinking ship).
And that's just the tip of the (Titanic-crippling?) iceberg. The fest begins the evening of Thursday, April 7, with showings of the documentary Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, about the creator of such enduring TV shows as All in the Family and The Jeffersons, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a New Zealand-set comedy starring Sam Neill and directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows), and ends the evening of Sunday, April 17, with a screening of Love & Friendship, a Jane Austen adaptation from writer-director Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, The Last Days of Disco). In between are more screenings of new films (including several works from North Carolina filmmakers as well as indie features starring the likes of Academy Award winners Juliette Binoche, Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest), showings of established classics (among them Annie Hall, The Dark Crystal and Rebel without a Cause), an "Acting on Stage and Screen" panel discussion from Tony-winning actress and Oscar nominee Rosemary Harris (Tom & Viv, Spider-Man) and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Oscar nominee Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart, Miss Firecracker), the opening weekend gala, and more.
For a look at the full lineup or other information, go here.
The 88th Annual Academy Awards will be held Feb. 28, and, as always, local film reviewers will appear opposite host Mike Collins on Charlotte Talks to offer their preferences and predictions in the major races. Creative Loafing film critic Matt Brunson and CinemaBlend.com's Sean O'Connell will discuss the various contenders, including Spotlight, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Big Short and The Revenant.
This edition of Charlotte Talks will air at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, on WFAE 90.7 FM. The broadcast will then be archived at www.wfae.org.
Forsaken - Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Sutherland
The Lady in the Van - Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings
Race - Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis
Risen - Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton
The Witch - Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson
Deadpool - Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin
How to Be Single - Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson
Providence - Rich Swingle, Juli Tapken (NOTE: Filmmakers Fred and Sharon Wilharm and actress Irene Santiago will hold a Q&A session following the 7 p.m. Monday, February 15, screening at Carolina Pavilion.)
Son of Saul - Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár
Where to Invade Next - Documentary; Michael Moore
Zoolander No. 2 - Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson
Anomalisa - Animated; voices of David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh
The Boy - Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans
Dirty Grandpa - Robert De Niro, Zac Efron
The 5th Wave - Chloe Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson
Ip Man 3 - Donnie Yen, Lynn Hung
The Benefactor - Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning
Lamb - Ross Partridge, Oona Laurence
Mustang - Academy Award nominee: Best Foreign Language Film
Norm of the North - Animated; voices of Rob Schneider, Ken Jeong
Ride Along 2 - Ice Cube, Kevin Hart
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi - John Krasinski, James Badge Dale
The Forest - Natalie Dormer, Taylor Kinney
The Masked Saint - Brett Granstaff, Roddy Piper
The Revenant - Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy
Wednesday:
The Big Short - Christian Bale, Steve Carell
Thursday:
Carol - Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Concussion - Will Smith, Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Daddy's Home - Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg
The Danish Girl - Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander
The Hateful Eight - Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell
Joy - Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper
Point Break - Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramírez
Youth - Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel