March 4, 2020
Cinematographer and AFI Alum Brandon Cox on his SXSW Film CUT THROAT CITY and the Movies That Inspire Him
“Trust your eye.” This is the mantra of cinematographer Brandon Cox (Class of 2004). His latest project, CUT THROAT CITY directed by Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, is set to premiere at the 2020 SXSW Festival. The film stars Shameik Moore, Demetrius Shipp Jr., Denzel Whitaker and Keean Johnson as four boyhood friends who return to New…
March 4, 2020
AFI Alum Heidi Levitt On Collaborating With Directors and Casting Sally Potter’s New Film
AFI alumna Heidi Levitt (Class of 1987) has established herself as a versatile casting director and producer, crisscrossing artistic mediums from theater to television to film to commercials. Her new film, THE ROADS NOT TAKEN, recently had its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. Reuniting with director Sally Potter for the fourth time,…
March 2, 2020
AFI Member Spotlight: Paris Barclay
Paris Barclay is one of television’s most prolific directors. His credits include episodes of NYPD BLUE, ER, THE WEST WING, LOST, THE GOOD WIFE, CSI, SONS OF ANARCHY, HOUSE, GLEE, IN TREATMENT, SCANDAL, EMPIRE and PITCH. Throughout his career, he has garnered two Emmy® awards, ten DGA nominations, three NAACP Image awards, four Peabody Awards…
February 27, 2020
Did You Know? This Julie Andrews Film is the 6th Highest-Grossing Movie Ever
THE SOUND OF MUSIC, which premiered 55 years ago this month, remains the 6th highest-grossing movie ever with adjustment for inflation. Released in 1965, the film remained in theaters for over a year and surpassed GONE WITH THE WIND as the highest grossing film at the time. THE SOUND OF MUSIC was adapted from the…
February 25, 2020
Watch: Director/Writer Joe Talbot and Star Jimmie Fails Discuss THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO
THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO director/writer Joe Talbot and star Jimmie Fails spoke at the AFI Conservatory about shooting the rowing scene and the themes of gentrification in their film. Watch the videos here:
February 5, 2020
AFI Remembers Cinema Legend Kirk Douglas
We join movie-lovers around the world in mourning the loss of a true cinema legend. Kirk Douglas was larger-than-life – with a legacy that includes towering onscreen performances and heroism offscreen during the dark days of the Hollywood blacklist. The American Film Institute was honored to celebrate these contributions at the AFI Life Achievement Award in…
February 4, 2020
PALM SPRINGS Director and Writer Talk Inspiration, Collaboration and Meeting at the AFI Conservatory
AFI alumni Max Barbakow (Directing, Class of 2015) and Andy Siara (Screenwriting, Class of 2015) just sold their debut feature film, PALM SPRINGS, breaking the record for the biggest sale ever at Sundance – by 69 cents. PALM SPRINGS stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as two wedding guests stuck in an endless time loop….
February 4, 2020
Production Designer Yong Ok Lee on her Sundance films MINARI and THE FAREWELL
Following her work on the critically-acclaimed THE FAREWELL – a 2019 AFI AWARDS recipient, AFI alum Yong Ok Lee (Production Design, Class of 2013) returned to Sundance for the second year in a row with MINARI – which won the U.S. dramatic grand jury prize and the dramatic audience award at this year’s festival. The film, inspired by director…
January 30, 2020
AFI Member Spotlight: Elika Portnoy on Producing and Premiering NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS at Sundance
Producer and AFI National Council member Elika Portnoy’s critically acclaimed new film NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS follows a teenage girl and her best friend’s perilous journey from their native Pennsylvania to New York City to obtain an abortion. Directed by indie auteur Eliza Hittman, the film recently premiered at Sundance and is set to be…
January 28, 2020
Did You Know? Julia Crawford Ivers Wrote First Feature Adaptation of this Mark Twain Novel
Did You Know? Julia Crawford Ivers wrote the first feature film adaptation of HUCKLEBERRY FINN which was released 100 years ago this month. She has 48 credits in the AFI Catalog for writing, directing and producing silent films. She worked for Famous Players-Lasky Corp. in the early 1920s when it became known as Paramount Pictures, and collaborated with director William Desmond Taylor until…
January 28, 2020
Did you know? This Film Was The First Onscreen Representation Of African-American Intimacy
Did you know? SOMETHING GOOD-NEGRO KISS, released in either 1898 or 1903, is believed to be the first onscreen representation of African-American intimacy. When the film was rediscovered in 2017 and entered into the National Film Registry in 2018, it showed a significant contrast to the racist and caricatured representations of black culture that were...
January 28, 2020
Your Guide to Romantic Films
In honor of AFI’s 100 YEARS…100 PASSIONS: The 100 Greatest Love Stories Of All Time, this month the AFI Catalog‘s team of film researchers compiled a shortlist of the best films exploring the complexities of love. AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (1957) Nominated for four Academy Awards®, this oft-referenced film stars Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr…
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