Brian De Palma at the 50th New York Film Festival.
Our free Summer Talks have gotten off to a fantastic start with packed conversations with Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke on their Before Midnight and Sofia Coppola on her new film The Bling Ring. But we're far from finished!
Dates have been revealed for the remainder of our Summer Talks, including three newly-announced entries in the series. Director Nicolas Winding Refn will discuss his followup to Drive, the divisive Cannes entry Only God Forgives starring Ryan Gosling and Kristin Scott Thomas, on July 14. Then on August 1, David Gordon Green will join us to talk about his new indie comedy Prince Avalanche, which stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. Finally, Brian De Palma returns to Film Society on August 19 with his 50th New York Film Festival hit Passion. All talks will include movie clips and trailers in addition to the extended conversation with the filmmakers, and audiences will have a chance to ask questions too!
Check out the full Summer Talks schedule below:
MUSEUM HOURS
Director: Jem Cohen
Well known for his distinctive work in Super 8 and 16mm film, as well as numerous music videos for the likes of R.E.M., Fugazi, Vic Chestnutt, Jem Cohen has made a name for himself with a number of acclaimed feature films, including Instrument, Benjamin Smoke and Chain. His latest film, Museum Hours, observes the burgeoning relationship between a quiet Vienna museum guard (Bobby Sommer) who meets a lonesome American visitor (Mary Margaret O'Hara). Anchored within a grand gallery at Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum, Jem Cohen's Museum Hours is an examination of art, architecture and ultimately, contemporary humanity.
*Wednesday, June 26: 6PM
Summer Talk with director Jem Cohen. Will also include a screening of a short film as a way of describing how he came to make Museum Hours.
Moderator: Film Society of Lincoln Center's Director of Digital Strategy, Eugene Hernandez.
CRYSTAL FAIRY
Director: Sebastián Silva
New York based Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Silva took his cast and crew on a fun ride when making Crystal Fairy, one of two feature films he had at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Produced by Pablo LarraĂn, director of last year's No (NYFF 50), Crystal Fairy is based on a real road trip from Silva's youth. Michael Cera stars as an American tourist who encounters a wanderer (played by Gaby Hoffman) during a Chilean vacation. The two of them, along with a group of locals (played by Silva's real-life brothers) embark on a journey in search of an elusive hallucinogen cactus that leads them to unexpected places.
*Monday, July 8: 7PM
Summer Talk with director Sebastián Silva.
Moderator: TBD
FRUITVALE STATION
Director: Ryan Coogler
Remember the name Ryan Coogler. If all goes according to plan, you should be hearing it a lot. The winner of both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival for his first feature, Fruitvale Station, Coogler is a former college football player who eventually embraced filmmaking. In the film, Coogler examines the tragic story of Oscar Grant, a victim of excessive police force in Coogler's own Oakland neighborhood. Charming and inspiring, Ryan Coogler is one of the most celebrated new filmmakers of the year.
*Thursday, July 11: 6PM
Summer Talk with director Ryan Coogler.
Moderator: The Film Society of Lincoln Center's Director of Digital Strategy, Eugene Hernandez.
ONLY GOD FORGIVES
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Perhaps the most divisive film from this year's Cannes Film Festival, Nicolas Winding-Refn's Only God Forgives stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Ryan Gosling as mother and son in a Thailand-set thriller. During a recent FilmLinc.com interview, Refn said that his new film continues themes that he's explored in his recent films Drive (2011) and Valhalla Rising (2009). The film opens at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on July 19.
*Sunday, July 14: 5PM
Summer Talk with director Nicolas Winding Refn.
Moderator: TBD
PRINCE AVALANCHE
Director: David Gordon Green
Director David Gordon Green first came to the Film Society very early on in his career. His first feature, George Washington, screened at the 38th New York Film Festival in 2000. His latest movie, Prince Avalanche — starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch — debuted at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Rudd and Hirsch portray brothers in Green's indie feature. The movie — conceived, filmed and finished in just a few months last year — is apparently a remake of Hafsteinn Gunnar SigurĂ°sson's Icelandic film, Either Way. Green is an always engaging, conversation guest and with eight movies under his belt since his first trip to the Film Society, he'll surely have a lot to talk about.
*Thursday, August 1: 6:30PM
Summer Talk with director David Gordon Green.
Moderator: Film Society of Lincoln Center's Director of Digital Strategy, Eugene Hernandez.
AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS
Director: David Lowery
An exciting discovery at this year's Sundance Film Festival, David Lowery is no stranger within American indie circles. Not only did he write and direct the upcoming Ain't Them Bodies Saints, but he edited Shane Carruth's recent Upstream Color and co-wrote Yen Tan's Pit Stop. Lowery's Texas drama, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, stars Rooney Mara, Ben Foster and Casey Affleck in a story of outlaws set in Texas.
*Wednesday, August 12: 7PM
Summer Talk with David Lowery.
Moderator: TBD
PASSION
Director: Brian De Palma
A hit from the 50th New York Film Festival, Brian DePalma's Passion is a film that is sure to have people talking. De Palma exhibits great panache and a diabolical mastery of frequent, small surprises in his cinematically most ingenious movie since his magical comedy-of-coincidences, Femme Fatale. With tongue planted in cheek, or maybe not — it's up to you to decide — De Palma turns French director Alain Corneau's 2010 Love Crime into a droll, erotic tale of female competition. Noomi Rapace more than matches her performance in the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as the assistant to an unscrupulous advertising honcho (Rachel McAdams), who steals her ideas and acts as if it's all good sport. It's great fun until De Palma zeros in on the fury in Rapace's eyes. The De Palma trademarks are all present and deployed with coolly calculated abandon: a brilliant use of split screen; a confusion of identical twins; dreams within dreams; and shoes to die for.
*Monday, August 19: 7PM
Summer Talk with director Brian De Palma.
Moderator: TBD
DRINKING BUDDIES
Director: Joe Swanberg
Kate (Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson) work together at a craft brewery. They have one of those friendships that feels like it could be something more. But Kate is with Chris (Ron Livingston), and Luke is with Jill (Anna Kendrick). And Jill wants to know if Luke is ready to talk about marriage. The answer to that question becomes crystal clear when Luke and Kate unexpectedly find themselves alone for a weekend. Drinking Buddies is written and directed by Joe Swanberg and stars Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, and Ron Livingston.
*Wednesday, August 21: 7PM
Summer Talk with Joe Swanberg.
Moderator: Film Society of Lincoln Center's Director of Digital Strategy, Eugene Hernandez.
