Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work Opens July 7


"Joan Rivers — where have you been all my life?"—from the NYTimes Review

From the AV Club Interview:

AVC: There’s some conventional wisdom that good comedians tend to come from troubled and angry backgrounds. Do you think this is true across the board?

JR: I think it’s very true across the board. I think anyone who’s perfectly happy isn’t particularly funny. And when you’re very, very happy, you’re not very funny. You’re just happy. I’d rather be damaged and funny because I’ve been laughing for 76 years.

AVC: Some of the funniest jokes in the film are when you’re talking about trying to get out there more often, and not getting the bookings you want.

JR: Again, if it’s a fact of life and you laugh about it, it’s okay. Everything is okay if you laugh about it. And that’s a great weapon. That’s a cliché, but clichés come out of truth. The glass is always half-empty for me, because I say it’s filled with poison. Even now, as everyone is adoring this movie and loving this movie, I keep saying to Ricki, “Yeah, but we’ll see, well see.” But I’m also not stupid. I’m delighted and savoring the moment, too.

AVC: A lot of people are fascinated by the movie, but also wary of seeing it, because they have a very negative image of you going in.

JR: I worked at The Bitter End years ago, owned by a man named Freddie Weintraub, and we all came out of there—Woody [Allen], Bill Cosby, and George Carlin. There was a whole group that was going through there. Peter, Paul & Mary, The Mamas & The Papas; we were all mixed up together. Freddie would stand at the door after the shows and he would listen to the comments, and if people loved the act or hated the act, he brought them back. He said, “That means they have a quality people watch.” When people hate me, that’s good. They know I’m there. You’re not a chorus kid. Remember in A Chorus Line, she’s having trouble and he keeps saying, “You’re standing out,” and she’s trying not to? They hate me? That’s good.

Read the whole interview here.


Monday, June 28, 2010

Exit Through the Gift Shop Sepcial Event-Tues. June 29

The Little Theatre is excited to screen Exit Through the Gift Shop for Rochester audiences beginning on Friday, June 25th. An exclusive talkback event is scheduled for Tuesday, June 29th, following the 6:30 PM screening. Tickets are $8. The film will have a full theatrical run.

Talkback guests include: The Sweet Meat Co., Artist Collective comprised of Sarah Rutherford, St. Monci, Mr. Prvrt, Lea Rizzo, and Erich Lehman. They will also be holding a free, one night artshow in the downstairs lounge of the Little 1.

“We hope to explore some of the conspiracy theories about the flick and people's reactions—there's so much to talk about in this film; the audience I saw it with earlier this year was definitely buzzing afterwards,” said Erich Lehman, owner of 1975 Gallery and talkback discussion moderator.

About Exit Through The Gift Shop
Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. The film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work, on walls and in interview. As Banksy describes it, "It's basically the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed."

About the speakers:
Erich Lehman, Owner/Curator, 1975 Gallery
http://www.1975ish.com

Building on over 14 years of art collecting experience, owner/curator Erich Lehman started 1975 as a means of sharing his love of art and helping others learn how to build their own collections while exposing the countless gifted artists he has become friends with over the years to an audience that might otherwise not encounter them.

1975 Gallery
1975 is a mobile gallery living in a semi-permanent space within SURFACE salon in the South Wedge neighborhood in Rochester, NY. We are dedicated to exposing talented artists to a community that might otherwise overlook them and facilitating the would-be collector. 1975 is born of a labor of love. As with all great love, it needs to be shared.

The Sweet Meat Co., Artist Collective
http://www.sweetmeatco.com

The Sweet Meat Co. is an art collective out of Rochester, NY. We have come together, young artists all navigating our ways through our chosen creative paths, dealing with the distractions of everyday life, of the jobs that pay our way, and feed off each other’s struggle, passion and talent. We seek to celebrate the artistic heartbeat of Rochester and expose its beautiful, raw potential. Together, we play off our mutual loves and skills and grow through exposure to each others' unique specialties.

Micmacs-opens Friday-from the director of Amelie!

Whimsical Comedy 'Micmacs' is like Spy Vs. Spy on film


“Jeunet has many talents, including a James Cameron-like knack for intricate devices. But he lacks the gift for laugh-out loud humor. Like Amélie, Micmacs is less a comedy than, say, a charmedy.”


Jeunet begins Micmacs with the kind of somber intensity of imagery that distinguished his World War I movie, A Very Long Engagement. In a bravura wordless opening, a French soldier in Africa steps on a land mine; then, thirty years later, his orphaned son, Bazil (comedian Dany Boon, looking like David Niven on a bender) is a video store clerk. While happily watching The Big Sleep, he is accidentally shot in the head by a criminal on the street.

With the bullet still lodged in his brain, Bazil is eventually released from the hospital to earn his meager living as a street mime. According to Anatole France, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread,” but that’s what this little tramp is reduced to. He decides to take revenge on the CEOs of the two weapons manufacturers who ruined his life. Conveniently, their grand offices are located right across the street from each other.

This sounds grim, but the tone of Micmacs rapidly lightens, becoming more Amélie-like. Jeunet tries to resist creeping Amélization by setting much of the film in a junkyard, where Bazil finds refuge with a quirky fellowship of stereotypical Parisian misfits (including a goateed artist, a contortionist, and a human cannonball). Because this is a Jeunet movie, however, it’s a fabulously French-looking junkyard, the dump of Baron Haussmann’s dreams. Bazil conspires—aided by his ex-video clerk’s grasp of plot twists and his new friends’ reconfigured equipment—to bloodlessly goad the two merchants of death into ruining each other. Countless sight gags ensue—all clever, some astonishing—as multinational corporate technology is outfoxed by old-fashioned French miserliness.

Read the full review here.


Beat the heat Card Locations!

Our popular summer discount card is back again! It's wallet-sized and loaded with discounts. Plus, you can use it to earn a free movie ticket.

Pick them up at great places all over town:

Right here at The Little!
Great Harvest Bread Co. (Brighton)
B. Younique
Bagel Land
Great Northern Pizza Kitchens (Brighton)
Eleventh Hour Gift Shop
AE SPA
Play Better Golf
Yarn Boutique
Max Market
Murphy’s Law
Boulder Coffee
MuCcc
Geva
Stereo Shop (Henrietta)
Four Walls Art Gallery
Starry Nites
Orange Glory
Gates Public Library
Pagano’s Visual Perceptions
Veneto
Monroe YMCA
Theresa Zink, LMT
Guido’s Pasta Villa
Matthews
DFC
Fratelli’s
Java’s
Spot Coffee
Rochester Contemporary Art Center
East Ave Deli & Market
Havana Moe's
Java's (on Gibbs St.)
Temple Bar & Grille
Metro Salon
Visit Rochester
Wallace Library (RIT)
Eye Candy
Parkleigh
Jines
Camille's
Color Me Mine
Pontillo's
Pita Pit
Jim's Restaurants
Tru Salon
Aladdin's

Monday, June 21, 2010

Help 4D Films!

Hey everyone, remember 4D4 films that we covered back in January? They are using a crowd-sourcing tool to help finance their next film. Check it out & help them out. Here's the link!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Margaret Lejeune & Jason Flack in the Little Cafe Gallery

About the Cafe Show
The body of the work at the Little is a collaboration with artist Jason Flack (www.jason flack.com). As photographers living in vastly different landscapes, rural vs. urban, we decided to respond to the imagery that we created photographically 1200 miles apart. The result is a variety of diptychs paired thematically based on texture, color, subject or composition.

About Margaret Lejeune
Margaret LeJeune is an image-maker from Rochester, New York. Working predominately in photographic-based mediums, LeJeune explores issues of constructed gender, sexism, power dynamics and stereotypes. Her work has been exhibited at the Griffin Museum of Photography, ARC Gallery, Woman Made Gallery and in numerous national invitational and juried exhibitions. Recently Ms. LeJeune was awarded third prize by Roxana Marcoci (Curator of Photographs, MOMA) in the 2010 Curator’s Choice Award at Center for her series The Modern Day Diana. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Art and the Director of the Kresge Art Gallery at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Springsteen, Rush and The Doors Films Highlight “Rock Week” at The Little in June

Join us for three top-notch rock films from June 10th-17th!

The Little Theatre has created a cinematic rock festival in June, featuring Bruce Springsteen, Rush and The Doors.

Also, to reward music lovers, The Little will be offering a Rock Week Pass. Once you purchase your first Rock Week Film ticket, you will be given a Rock Week Pass. If you see all three films and have the card punched, you’ll be awarded a free movie ticket to use in the future. Four films for the price of three—the opposite of ticket scalping!

About the films:
RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage
Opens Thursday, June 10 at 8:00
2010 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Choice Award Winner

For fans of the legendary Canadian band RUSH, this is the documentary to experience. It’s a comprehensive exploration of this extraordinary power trio, from their early days growing up in Toronto, through each of their landmark albums, to the present day. Sit back and revel in the words, music, and wonder of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart.
Runtime: 106 minutes

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
London Calling: Live in Hyde Park

Three Shows Only!

Friday, June 11, Saturday, June 12, Wednesday, June 16 at 7:00pm

Tickets are $15 each with 100% of the proceeds going to support The Little Theatre

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's concert film, was captured in London at the Hard Rock Calling Festival on June 28, 2009 in HD. Watch The Boss spontaneously directing the E Street Band and shaping the show as it evolves in front of an enthusiastic festival crowd.
Runtime: 90 minutes

When You're Strange: A Film About the Doors
Opens Friday, June 11

Historic and previously unseen footage of the illustrious rock quartet provides new insight into the revolutionary impact of its music and legacy. The film is a riveting account of the band's history and the first feature documentary about them. Using footage shot between the band's 1965 formation and Morrison's 1971 death, When You're Strange follows the band from the corridors of UCLA's film school, where Manzarek and Morrison met, to the stages of sold-out arenas.
Runtime: 89 minutes

Schedule
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (106min.)
Thursday, June 10 - 8:00pm
Friday, June 11 - 9:10
Saturday, June 12 - 1:00, 3:10 & 9:10
Sunday, June 13 - 1:00, 3:10, 7:00 & 9:10
Monday, June 14 - 7:00 & 9:10
Tuesday, June 15 - 7:00 & 9:10
Wednesday, June 16 - 9:10
Thursday, June 17 - 7:00 & 9:10
*Regular ticket prices

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
London Calling: Live in Hyde Park (90min.)
Friday, June 11 – 7:00
Saturday, June 12 – 7:00
Wednesday, June 16 – 7:00
*$15-100% of proceeds support The Little (no discounts available)

When You’re Strange: A Film About The Doors
Showtimes for Friday, June 11 - Thursday, June 17
Evenings: 7:10 & 9:40
Weekend Matinees: 1:10 & 3:40
*Regular ticket prices

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Throwback Thursday is this week!





Throwback Thursday is a benefit for The Roc City Park: A group of involved citizens and small business owners are working with the City of Rochester’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Human Services and the New York State Department of Transportation to build and maintain a skate park for skateboarders and BMX riders. The Roc City Park (RCP) will be a world-class, public cement skate park located in the city.

About the Event:
We'll be showing a double-header of great skate and speed films that will take you back!
The fundraiser is p
resented by KRUDCO Skateshop, Etiket Clothing, Thread, The A-List and The Little Theatre. Proceeds benefit the Roc City Park project.

Tickets are $10 each or $15 for both movies and are available at Krudco, Thread and The Little Theatre box office.

Thursday, June 3
6:30pm: Quicksilver
8:45pm: Gleaming the Cube

The Films:
Quicksilver

Jack Casey (Kevin Bacon) is a brash yuppie broker who ends up losing his and his parents' wealth playing the stock market. What's Jack's next move? To drop out of the corporate rat race and become a bike messenger. Jack finds his new "free-wheeling" co-workers to be a diverse bunch, and he especially likes the down-and-out, sensitive Terri (Jami Gertz). But Jack also discovers that Terri and other messengers have an illegal and lucrative sideline delivering drugs for the nefarious drug dealer Gypsy. Can Jack rescue Terri from Gypsy's dangerous grip?

Gleaming the Cube
To 16-year-old Brian, life is an empty pool and a skateboard, until his brother is found dead and it's declared a suicide. Determined to uncover the truth, Brian risks all as he crosses into a world of deceit, contraband, and murder. Christian Slater impresses in one of his first leading roles.