Films On Our Radar: Shira Piven's Welcome To Me at Music Box 5/8/15 #ChiILFlixPicks #Films

Chi, IL Flix Picks

Piven Theatre Workshop Alumna Shira Piven Returns for Chicago Premiere of

Her Sophomore Film Welcome To Me, Starring Kristen Wiig

Friday, May 8, 2015 at Music Box Theatre

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we can't wait to check out Welcome To Me this Friday. Piven will introduce the film and conduct a post-show Q&A on Friday, May 8, 7pm at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport in Chicago. Tickets are $15, with a portion of the proceeds supporting scholarships and outreach programs of Piven Theatre Workshop. www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/welcome-to-me-opening-night-with-director-shira-piven-2015-may-8-fri-0700pm Piven will also introduce a second, 9:45 p.m. screening of the movie the same night.

Director Shira Piven, an original member of Piven Theatre Workshop’s Young People’s Company in Evanston, will attend the Chicago Premiere of her second feature, Welcome To Me, a comedy starring Kristen Wiig and Joan Cusack. 

Shira Piven – daughter of Piven Theatre Workshop’s Byrne and Joyce Piven and sister of Jeremy Piven – was an original member of Young People’s Company, the advanced youth program of Piven Theatre Workshop, along with legal analyst Jonathan Turley and actresses Ann and Joan Cusack. Shira established herself as an actress and then director in Chicago before relocating to New York, where she founded Water Theatre Company. Shira has since directed more than 20 plays, many of them original adaptations, in New York, Chicago, LA, and DC.

Piven’s first feature Fully Loaded won the audience favorite feature award at Palm Beach International Film Festival as well as best feature at both The River's Edge International and Carmel Art and Film Festivals. It was also featured at the Boston, San Luis Obispo, Talking Pictures and Newport Beach film festivals and released by Starz. She also directed a short documentary The Beast and The Angel that premiered at the Lincoln Center Film Society and aired on PBS.

Piven has also taught acting for stage and film, from coaching the sons in Talladega Nights to her current work with the Actors Gang prison project, teaching Commedia Dell'arte to inmates in prison, and at Homeboys industries to former LA Gang members. She is married to filmmaker Adam McKay and they have two daughters.

In Welcome to Me, a woman with borderline personality disorder (Wiig) wins the Mega-Millions and – much to the dismay of her parents, therapist, gay ex-husband and local TV station – uses the winnings to fund her lifelong dream of becoming the next Oprah. Joan Cusack, James Marsden, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Linda Cardellini and Wes Bentley also star, with Joyce Hiller Piven as Wiig’s mother. Welcome To Me begins its week-long Chicago theatrical engagement May 8 at Music Box Theatre.

About Piven Theatre Workshop:

For 43 years, the Piven Theatre Workshop has remained a nationally respected acting school and professional theatre. The mission of the Workshop is to preserve a process of creative exploration that celebrates each individual’s unique voice through an ensemble-based, community-oriented approach to theatre training and performance. The Workshop pursues its mission through three branches of the organization: a training center for children and adults that serves more than 1,000 students annually with mentorship opportunities for emerging theatre artists and educators, extensive scholarship and community outreach programs, and a professional, Equity theatre committed to new works and literary adaptations. All told, Piven serves more than 3,000 people annually. www.piventheatre.org.

About Music Box Theatre:

For the last two decades, the Music Box Theatre has been the premiere venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films. It currently has the largest theater space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States.

OPENING: Antarctica: A Year on Ice at Music Box #ChiILFlixPicks

Antarctica: A Year on Ice

Chicago will look downright balmy once you've seen this stunningly gorgeous documentary on Antarctica. Here at ChiIL Mama we caught a sneak peek at this acclaimed gem and highly recommend it. Like most of the best docs, this one takes time to unfold and it's filmed over a 10 year span, including 9 winters. 

Anthony Powell's passion for the place and people shines through and makes this a must see. I'm still amazed that the people who choose to work and live on the most isolated continent were gregarious enough to do such great interviews. There are many witty and wise sound bites and quotes sprinkled throughout. This doc is a unique blend of insight into universal human truths and character interwoven with a strong sense of place. Antarctica: A Year on Ice does a stellar job of illuminating the way the harsh terrain influences the people and vice versa. The pristine landscape shots are a powerful plea for the natural world and this doc does a surprisingly supurb job using one of the darkest places in the world to shine a light on the subject. 

Opens in Chicago on Friday, December 5th!

*Calgary International Film Festival 2013 – Best Documentary*

* New Zealand Film & TV Awards 2013- Best Documentary Cinematography*

“Breathtaking! A deeply moving experience. I urge you to see this film.”

-Michael Sigman, Huffington Post

“Words are entirely inadequate to convey the experience of watching this film. An extraordinary achievement that reinvigorates our sense of wonder about the natural world.” -Peter Calder, The New Zealand Herald

Experience a year in the harshest place on Earth, following the people who live and work on the frozen continent. Filled with exhilarating never-before-seen images, painstakingly filmed for over 10 years, including 9 winters in months of unending darkness, ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE is a thrilling, eye-opening journey to the frigid and beautiful end of the world.

About the film

ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE is a visually stunning journey to the end of the world with the hardy and devoted people who live there year-round. The research stations scattered throughout the continent host a close-knit international population of scientists, technicians and craftsmen. Isolated from the rest of the world, enduring months of unending darkness followed by periods when the sun never sets, Antarctic residents experience firsthand the beauty and brutality of the most severe environment on Earth. Capturing epic battles against hellacious storms, quiet reveries of nature’s grandeur, and everyday moments of work and laughter, this unique documentary shows a steadfast community thriving in a land few humans have experienced. Using specially modified cameras and spectacular time-lapse photography, filmmaker Anthony Powell captures the splendor of the region like no film before. 

ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE gives testament to the planet’s natural wonders, humanity’s thirst for adventure, and the emotional extremes that accompany a year within the last pristine wilderness on the planet.

Dir. ANTHONY POWELL | English | 92 mins

Film details.

What: ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE

Where: The Music Box Theatre

When: Opens Friday, December 5th, 2014

UPCOMING FILMS AT THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE

Dec 5th - ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE

Dec 12th - POINT AND SHOOT

                  Dec 12th - THE 2014 ANNUAL MUSIC BOX CHRISTMAS SHOW

                - SING-A-Long SOUND OF MUSIC

Tickets

Admission for main features and midnight films is $9.25 (different prices may apply to special presentations). The first show of the day on Mondays through Thursdays is only $8.25. Admission for the 11:30am matinee films is $7.25.

The Music Box Discount Card provides 5 admissions for $33.00 (a savings of up to $13.25; good for six months; limit two admissions per visit). Cards are available at the box office.

Film info line: (773) 871-6604. Click here for further show details, loads of fabulous holiday features, and many more films coming soon.

3733 N. SOUTHPORT AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60613

773-871-6604 (SHOWTIMES)

Music Box Theatre - 3733 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL, 60613, (773) 871-6607 

What We're Watching: Save the Dates MUSIC BOX THEATRE’S 70MM FESTIVAL

Can you name those famous 70MM scenes?!

February Films on our Radar

THE ORIGINAL HIGH-DEFINITION CINEMA

MUSIC BOX THEATRE’S 70MM FESTIVAL INCLUDES THE RETURN OF OSCAR-NOMINATED THE MASTER, A NEW PRINT OF KUBRICK’S 2001, AND HITCHCOCK’S ELEVATED VERTIGO

DIVERSE LINEUP ALSO INCLUDES MUSICAL WEST SIDE STORY, CHILDREN’S CLASSIC CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, FRENCH COMIC MASTERPIECE PLAYTIME AND MORE, FEBRUARY 15-28

An epic format deserves an epic festival. For two weeks in February, Music Box Theatre screens nine movies – more than a half-ton of celluloid – at the Music Box Theatre 70MM Festival.  Highlights include a brand new print of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and the return of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master.  Music Box has spent more than 100 man-hours prepping their 70mm equipment to ensure that even audiences who’ve seen 70mm before have never seen it with this clarity. Music Box Theatre 70MM Festival runs February 15-28, 2012 at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave. www.musicboxtheatre.com/collections/music-box-theatre-70mm-festival

In August 2012, film fans from around the country flew into Chicago for an exclusive late-night sneak preview of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master in glorious 70mm. Until now, the one-night, sell-out presentation was Chicagoans’ only opportunity to see this gorgeous film projected in the large film format in which it was filmed. 70MM Festival presents another rare opportunity to see this Academy Award-nominated modern masterpiece in its original format.

Music Box Theatre 70MM Festival also includes: a brand new print of Kubrick’s 2001 (1968); an archival print from a recent restoration of Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim (1965); Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958); Tobe Hooper’s outer space vampire/zombie thriller Lifeforce (1985); Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of Shakespearean Hamlet (1996); Jacques Tati’s colorful and slapstick Playtime (1967); children’s favorite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1961); and the timeless Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim musical West Side Story (1961). Synopses and showtimes below.

“Music Box Theatre is committed to film presentation in any and all formats available and is one of the very few cinemas in the United States – and the only one in Chicago—still able to screen 70mm,” said Music Box Theatre General Manager Dave Jennings. “It is with this capability that we proudly present these nine films as examples of 70mm film to Chicago in this very special series.  All of these films will be presented the way their makers intended: on the big screen, in a theater, on film and in 70mm.”

Tickets to individual movies in the Music Box Theatre 70MM Festival are $9.25 per screening. A festival pass, $70, entitles the holder to one admission to every screening – including seeing the same film more than once. To purchase, visit www.musicboxtheatre.com/collections/music-box-theatre-70mm-festival  or the Music Box Theatre Box Office, 3733 N. Southport Ave.

About the 70MM film format

Almost since the advent of cinema there have been variations of 70mm film used to capture visual clarity unequalled in 35mm filming. 70mm films became popular in the 1940s through the 1980s. Due to the cost of 70mm film, few films were ever shot in this large format, and following their initial release many of them were also released in 35mm to facilitate wide release. Other films were shot in 35mm and “blown up.” When DTS sound and Dolby Surround were introduced to cinemas, 70mm (and auditoriums devoted to 70mm) all but disappeared. The Result: few people have had the chance to see true 70mm presentation.

Contrary to popular belief, 70mm is not a larger image; it is a format that allows for more information and more visual clarity than its 35mm counterpart. There is a depth to the image that is unlike 35mm, and certainly very different from digital projection. Over the past several years the film industry has moved away from film in favour of digital projection. Film, in any format, is expensive to use for production and replication. For the first time since the advent of sound, cinemas have had to make a major change in their projection capabilities making the number of auditoriums outfitted for 35mm or 70mm film projection very few. The Music Box Theatre is committed to film presentation in any and all formats available and is one of the very few cinemas in the United States able to screen 16mm, 35mm, 70mm and almost all digital formats.

Music Box Theatre 70MM Festival Films

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) To begin his voyage into the future, Kubrick visits our prehistoric ape-ancestry past, then leaps millennia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever conceived) into colonized space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) into uncharted realms of space, perhaps even into immortality. “Open the pod bay doors, HAL.” Let the awe and mystery of a journey unlike any other begin. Shows Friday, Feb. 15, 9:00pm; Saturday, Feb. 16, 9:00pm; Sunday, Feb. 17, 8:00pm; and Thursday, Feb. 21, 7:30pm   

This is one of our favs...especially on the big screen.   We announced the impending birth of our first kid in 2001 with the iconic movie poster and the tag line 2001:  A Baby Odyssey.   The ultimate trip indeed!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). Dick Van Dyke stars as quirky inventor Caractacus Potts, whose magical flying car transports his family and lovely lady friend to Vulgaria, a kingdom strangely devoid of children, ruled by the evil Baron Bomburst. Written by Ian Fleming, with a screenplay by Roald Dahl and the same producer (Albert Broccoli) as the Bond bunch as well!   Shows Saturday, Feb. 16, 2pm; and Sunday, Feb. 17, 5:00pm   Didn't you ever wonder why that James Bondesque penchant for wacky inventions and quirky character names seemed sooo familiar in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?!   

Hamlet (1996). Veteran Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh delivers a brooding performance as the Danish prince driven to madness by his father’s death in this four-hour production of one of the Bard’s finest plays, featuring cameos by several stars. Tormented by his father’s ghost and enraged by his mother’s plans to wed his uncle, Hamlet concocts a revenge plot that leaves the stage dripping with blood. Look for Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Kate Winslet. Shows Sunday, Feb. 24, 2:00pm; and Tuesday, Feb. 26, 7:30pm

Lifeforce (1985). American and British astronauts (Steve Railsback, Mathilda May and Peter Firth) on a joint mission exploring an alien spacecraft discover that the vessel contains several seemingly human bodies. But after they’re brought back to Earth, they come alive and start turning Londoners into zombies in this sci-fi thriller from director Tobe Hooper. Shows Wednesday, Feb. 20, 7:30pm; and Sunday, Feb. 24, 9:40pm

Lord Jim (1965). Writer Joseph Conrad’s stirring maritime novel charts the emotional course of British seaman Jim (Peter O’Toole), a thrillseeker aboard a merchant vessel who longs for adventure. He finds that in spades when the ship is caught in an all-consuming storm. But he also discovers that he has no courage to spare, and he soon abandons ship — an act that drives him to redeem himself in a dangerous Southeast Asian jungle. Shows Saturday, Feb. 16, 5:30pm; and Monday, Feb. 18, 7:30pm

The Master (2012). Academy Award nominees Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1950s-set drama centered on the relationship between a charismatic intellectual known as “the Master” whose faith-based organization begins to catch on in America, and a young drifter who becomes his right-hand man. Shows Friday, Feb. 22, 9:00pm; Saturday, Feb. 23, 8:30pm; and Monday, Feb. 25, 7:30pm

Playtime (1967). Technology-minded visual comedy directed by and starring Jacques Tati. Monsieur Hulot (Tati) has to contact an American official in Paris, but he gets lost in the maze of modern architecture which is filled with the latest technical gadgets. Shows Friday, Feb. 22, 6:30pm; Saturday, Feb. 23, 5:30pm; and Thursday, Feb. 28, 7:30pm

Vertigo (1958). Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological masterpiece last year ousted Citizen Kane to become number one on the AFI’s list of top 100 films of all time. A San Francisco detective (James Stewart) suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend’s wife (Kim Novak), becoming dangerously obsessed with her. Shows Friday, Feb. 15, 6:30pm; Sunday, Feb. 17, 2:00pm; and Tuesday, Feb. 19, 7:30pm

West Side Story (1961). Natalie Wood and Russ Tamblyn star in Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim’s musical retelling of Romeo and Juliet set among rival NYC gangs. The sets were built six feet off the ground to allow for low-angle shooting with the large 70mm cameras. This became the winningest musical of all time when it earned 10 Oscars, including Best Picture. Shows Saturday, Feb. 23, 2:00pm; Sunday, Feb. 24, 6:45pm; and Wednesday, Feb. 27, 7:30pm.

Music Box Theatre 70MM Festival Daily Schedule

Fri 2/15:

·         6:30pm: Vertigo

·         9:00pm: 2001: A Space Odyssey 

Sat 2/16:

·         2:00pm: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

·         5:30pm: Lord Jim

·         9:00pm: 2001: A Space Odyssey 

Sun 2/17:

·         2:00pm: Vertigo

·         5:00pm: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

·         8:00pm: 2001: A Space Odyssey 

Mon 2/18:

·         7:30pm: Lord Jim

Tues 2/19:

·         7:30pm: Vertigo

Wed 2/20:

·         7:30pm: Lifeforce

Thurs 2/21:

·         7:30pm: 2001: A Space Odyssey 

Fri 2/22:

·         6:30pm: Playtime

·         9:00pm: The Master

Sat 2/23:

·         2:00pm: West Side Story

·         5:30pm: Playtime

·         8:30pm: The Master

Sun 2/24:

·         2:00pm: Hamlet

·         6:45pm: West Side Story

·         9:40pm: Lifeforce

Mon 2/25:

·         7:30pm: The Master

Tues 2/26:

·         7:30pm: Hamlet

Wed 2/27:

·         7:30pm: West Side Story

Thurs 2/28:

·         7:30pm: Playtime

About the Music Box Theatre: For nearly 30 years the Music Box Theatre has been the premier venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films, festivals and some of the greatest cinematic events in Chicago. It currently has the largest cinema space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States. For additional information please visit www.musicboxtheatre.com.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING: Must See Shows at Music Box This Weekend

It's a director filled weekend in Chi-town.  Chicago-born filmmaker Linda Goldstein Knowlton will be here for the opening of her new movie Somewhere Between, Jan 11-13, as will the stars of the movie.   We caught a press preview of this moving, thought provoking doc. and highly recommend it!

I'm the daughter of an ESL (English as a second language) teacher and my cousin adopted Chinese girl twins as toddlers who are now 9.   You can check out their "Somewhere Between" experiences via the blog And Babies Make Four right here.  International families have always been a part of my world, and we're making a concerted effort to raise urban kids who have friends from many cultures.   So this film was of particular interest to me.   My husband's also a location sound engineer who travels the world on documentaries and other TV shoots, so he's picky about production values.   Even he was impressed by the quality of the audio and video in Somewhere Between.

The girls' stories are thought provoking, unique and insightful and raise great questions for adoptive multicultural families and society as a whole.   Check it out!

JOYOUS AND MOVING SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ASKS “WHO AM I?”

Award-winning documentary about adopted Chinese girls by Chicago-born filmmaker Linda Goldstein Knowlton opens exclusively at Music Box Theatre January 11

LINDA GOLDSTEIN KNOWLTON AND TEENAGERS FROM THE MOVIE WILL BE AT THE MUSIC BOX OPENING WEEKEND FOR POST-SCREENING Q&A’S

In profiling Chinese adoptees in contemporary America, the joyous Somewhere Between illustrates that even the most specific of experiences can be universally relatable. The deeply moving documentary by Linda Goldstein Knowlton (The World According to Sesame Street) intimately follows four American teenagers, some of the 80,000 girls who have been adopted from China since 1989 a decade after the country implemented its One Child Policy. These typical American teens reveal an inspiring sense of self-awareness as they attempt to answer the uniquely human question, “Who am I?” Somewhere Between makes its Midwest premiere Friday, January 11 for a limited engagement at Music Box Theater, 3733 N. Southport Avenue. Filmmaker Linda Goldstein Knowlton and the girls from the movie will be in attendance for post-screening Q&A’s on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. www.musicboxtheatre.com/features/somewhere-between

“My daughter's name is Ruby Goldstein Knowlton,” Knowlton explains. “She’s seven. When my husband and I adopted her from China, we had no idea what lay ahead. We became a family in an instant. But as I began to think about Ruby's future, I started to wonder how her coming of age would differ from mine. I began talking to older girls who had been adopted from China and brought to the U.S., and plunged into a world not just of identity but of what it means to be who we are. This film, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN, was born.”

The four girls at the center of the movie – Haley, Jenna, Ann and Fang – meet and bond with other adoptees, some journey back to China to reconnect with the culture, and some reach out to the orphaned girls left behind. In their own ways, they attempt to make sense of their complex identities. Issues of belonging, race and gender are brought to life through these articulate subjects, who approach life with honesty and open hearts.  Born in China to families who are unable to keep them, largely because of China’s “One Child Policy,” the baby girls were raised in orphanages, and then eventually adopted by American families. Here, they grow up with Sesame Street, hip-hop and Twitter. They describe themselves as “bananas”: white on the inside and yellow on the outside. All is well until they hit their teen years when their pasts pull at them, and they begin to wonder, “Who am I?”

As Somewhere Between plunges the viewer into the ordinary and extraordinary days of these four girls’ lives, we, too, are forced to pause and consider who we are—both as individuals and as a nation of immigrants.

Linda Goldstein Knowlton (Director/Producer)

Linda Goldstein Knowlton co-directed and co-produced the feature-length documentary, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET. The film examines Sesame Street's international co-productions, made primarily in some of the world's political hotspots, including Kosovo, Bangladesh, and South Africa. The film made its World Premiere in competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival as an Official Selection in the U.S. Documentary category. The film was selected and screened at the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto, the Seattle Film Festival, and other festivals including Boston, Dubrovnik, New Zealand, Melbourne, and Zurich. Previously, Goldstein Knowlton produced the New Zealand film WHALE RIDER (2002), directed by Niki Caro, which was the winner of the Audience Awards at Toronto, Sundance, Rotterdam, Seattle, San Francisco, and Maui film festivals. Goldstein Knowlton became involved with WHALE RIDER in 1992, a decade before its theatrical release, after reading the novella upon which the film is based. Prior to that, she initiated the development of THE SHIPPING NEWS after reading the novel in galley form in 1993, and then produced the 2001-released film, directed by Lasse Hallstrom. She made her feature-film producing debut in 1999 with both MUMFORD, written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, and CRAZY IN ALABAMA, directed by Antonio Banderas. She is currently developing both fiction and documentary films.

Born and raised in Chicago, Goldstein Knowlton studied neuroscience at Brown University. Following college, she remained in Providence to serve the governor of Rhode Island in the Office of Intergovernmental Relations. She subsequently worked raising funds for film preservation at The American Film Institute, in Washington, D.C., and, later, in Los Angeles. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.

About the Music Box Theatre: For nearly 30 years the Music Box Theatre has been the premier venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films, festivals and some of the greatest cinematic events in Chicago. It currently has the largest cinema space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States. 

For additional information please click here for the main MUSIC BOX site. 

Download the entire Music Box Theatre Winter Calendar here

MUSIC BOX ROCKS: FILMS ON OUR RADAR #ChiILpicks

Tis the season for fabulous films and music and Music Box Theatre makes our ChiILpicks List as one of the city's best.   We adore the vintage decor, and their excellent lineup.   The Music Box is brimming with fam friendly sing alongs, Oscar winning classics, and new release international, indie and art films.  

Check out Music Box Theatre's full Winter Calendar here.

Music Box & The Stage

In 2012 we caught a number of The National Theatre of Great Britain's excellent live theatre productions, filmed and shown around the world, like Frankenstein staring dual Sherlocks (Benedict Cumberbatch from the BBC revival and Jonny Lee Miller from Elementary).   Check out our review here.  And more of our past coverage here.

Live theatre on film is an acquired taste, and many film critics dislike the genre, but theatre people are flocking to the shows.   Folks dress up for the films, more like a night out at a Broadway in Chicago show, and applaud like a live performance.   We think they're a hoot, and relish the opportunity to see world renowned stars on stage without a pricy flight across the ocean!   We hit up press previews of most of Music Box's National Theatre offerings.   The Last of The Haussmans, and Timon of Athens which we had just seen live at Chicago Shakespeare, were some of our favs pf 2012.   Keep an eye out for more in 2013.   Highly recommended.

The Last of the Haussmans

A FILM BY HOWARD DAVIES STARRING JULIE WALTERS, RORY KINNEAR, AND HELEN MCCRORY

Presented by National Theatre Live

Julie Walters plays Judy Haussman with Rory Kinnear and Helen McCrory as her children in this eagerly-anticipated new play: a funny, touching and sometimes savage portrait of a family that’s losing its grip.

Anarchic, feisty but growing old, high society drop-out Judy Haussman remains in spirit with the Ashrams of the 1960s while holding court in her dilapidated Art Deco house on the Devon coast. After an operation, she’s joined by wayward offspring Nick and Libby, sharp-eyed granddaughter Summer, local doctor Peter, and Daniel, a troubled teenager who makes use of the family’s crumbling swimming pool. Together they share a few sweltering months in this chaotic world of all-day drinking, infatuations, long-held resentments, free love and failure.

One of Britain’s best-loved and most versatile actors, Julie Walters has wonBAFTA, Golden Globe and Olivier Awards for her work. Her screen credits range from Educating Rita to celebrated work with Victoria Wood, from lead roles in the movies of Mamma Mia! and Harry Potter to portraying Mo Mowlam for Channel 4.

Rory Kinnear recently won the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for his performance as Hamlet at the National Theatre. Helen McCrory’s acclaimed work includes the films The Queen and, recently, Hugo.

Timon of Athens A FILM BY NICHOLAS HYTNER STARRING SIMON RUSSELL BEALE, PAUL DODDS, AND NICK SAMPSON Simon Russell Beale takes the title role in Shakespeare’s strange fable of consumption, debt and ruin, written in collaboration with Thomas Middleton. “A perfect parable for our times in Nicholas Hytner’s exhilarating production featuring a compelling central performance by Simon Russell Beale.” –The Guardian The National Theatre’s acclaimed contemporary staging of Shakespeare’s strange fable, set against a backdrop of modern-day London where money is power, has enjoyed a sell-out run at the theatre. Wealthy friend to the rich and powerful, patron of the arts and ostentatious host, Timon of Athens suddenly finds his coffers empty. When he calls for upon his friends for help, they hang him out to dry. So begins Shakespeare’s strange fable of conspicuous consumption, debt and ruin. Simon Russell Beale, who has been described by the Independent as ‘the greatest stage actor of his generation,’ takes the title role in Nicholas Hytner’s (Hamlet, One Man, Two Guvnors) bold production, which makes Timon of Athens more relevant and compelling than ever before.

Check out more of ChiIL Live Shows past Music Box coverage here.   We'll be bringing you even more film news, original reviews, and sneak peeks in the coming year.

HOLLYWOOD LEGEND CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER DELIVERS AN OSCAR-WORTHY PERFORMANCE AS HOLLYWOOD LEGEND JOHN BARRYMORE IN THE CAPTURED-LIVE STAGE PRODUCTION BARRYMORE

One showing, Thursday, December 27, 7:30pm at Music Box Theatre

We had the great pleasure of catching a press preview and were blown away by Christopher Plummer's Barrymore.   We've been giving you the heads up on this one on our FB and Twitter feeds since the first week of December.   Check back January 10th to see if rumors of Oscar nominations for this film come true and absolutely catch it if you can.

BARRYMORE, a captured-live stage production, stars Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer as American acting legend John Barrymore. In a career defining performance, Plummer (as Barrymore) reckons with the ravages of his life of excess while rehearsing a revival of his 1920 Broadway triumph in Richard III. 

Music Box is pleased to offer BARRYMORE, plus "making of" documentary BACKSTAGE WITH BARRYMORE featuring Helen Mirren, Julie Andrews and Zoe Caldwell, on Thursday, December 27, 7:30 p.m. at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave. www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/barrymore-2012-12-27-730-pm

BARRYMORE, based on the 1997 Broadway production, is set in 1942, and follows acclaimed American actor John Barrymore, a member of one of Hollywood’s most well-known theatrical dynasties, as he rehearses the Shakespearean triumph that made him a household name, Richard III. The film finds Barrymore in his faded glory reckoning with the ravages of his life of excess, only months before his premature death. The film is directed and written by Érik Canuel, based on the play by William Luce.

Barrymore is played by Academy Award winner and master thespian Christopher Plummer, reprising his 1997 Tony Award-winning role. His nuanced performance has earned him rave reviews and, for a film that didn’t find a distributor after its World Premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, talk of a third Academy Award nomination, and more importantly, a nomination for Best Actor after three nominations and one win for Best Supporting Actor. Could this staged one-man play, where Plummer chews the scenery for the entirety of its running time, get him that nomination? 

“I’m all but convinced he has the Oscar in the bag,” Hollywood Elsewhere critic Jeff Wells exclaimed after seeing it. 

David Edelstein of New York Magazine says, “God, I love Plummer’s performance — the twiddling fingers, the tipsy sway of the head, the reverberating roar, as well as the pathos of a man who can’t stop acting long enough to hear the cry of his own soul.”

There is a precedent for plays on film getting Academy love.  A 1965 filmed version of Britain’s National Theatre presentation of Othello earned acting nominations for its cast. In 1975, James Whitmore was nominated in the Best Actor category for the production of his one-man show Give ’Em Hell, Harry!

The December 27 showing includes a ”making of” documentary, Backstage with Barrymore, featuring Helen Mirren, Julie Andrews, and Zoe Caldwell.  Total running time of the film (84m) plus the documentary (45m) is 129 minutes.

Barrymore

Starring Christopher Plummer, directed and written by Érik Canuel, based on the play by William Luce. In English, 129 minutes.

About the Music Box Theatre: 

For nearly 30 years the Music Box Theatre has been the premier venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films, festivals and some of the greatest cinematic events in Chicago. It currently has the largest cinema space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States. For additional information please visit www.musicboxtheatre.com . 

Download the entire Music Box Theatre Winter Calendar here.