Articles about Movies
Bacon Nixed Role in Footloose Remake
Actor Kevin Bacon says he was asked to appear in director Craig Brewer’s soon-to-be-released 
remake of Footloose–the 1984 film that made Bacon a star–but turned down the offer because he wasn’t impressed by the role. Speaking in Dallas to a packed house last night for the Nasher Sculpture Center’s NasherSALON series, the Golden Globe winner said of the redo, “They wrote a part for me, and it just wasn’t that good a part. I honestly felt for me to be in the movie would be doing the movie a disservice. … But, I wish them the best. The only downside [for me] is, you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and say, ‘Eww, they’re remaking your movies!’ ” The 53-year-old actor (pictured in photo by Jeanne Prejean) said a remake of his 1990 Flatliners flick is also in the works.
Larry McMurtry Has A Bone to Pick with John Ford
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Larry McMurtry is currently working on five movie scripts, ![Larry McMurtry IMG_6027[11]](http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Larry-McMurtry-IMG_602711-210x300.jpg "Larry McMurtry IMG_6027[11]")
including the film adaptation of S.C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon about the legendary half-white/half-Comanche chief Quanah Parker. So when McMurtry (shown in photo by Randy Hunter) made a rare appearance in Snyder, Texas, Labor Day weekend to take part in the first-ever John Wayne Film Fest, you knew he would speak with authority introducing The Searchers, director John Ford’s classic western. The 1956 flick, which starred Wayne, Natalie Wood and Jeffrey Hunter, was said to have been based on the kidnaping of Parker’s then-9-year-old mother by Comanches in the 1830s–in what’s now the state of Texas, not Monument Valley in Utah and Arizona, as depicted in Ford’s masterpiece.
Dallas Legend L.M. Kit Carson Joins Bill for Thursday’s Paris, Texas Screening at the Kessler Theater
This Thursday FrontRow will close out its latest film series, “Dallas, Outlaws, and the American Dream,” with a screening of Wim Wenders Paris, Texas, a movie that was written by Dallas’ L.M. Kit Carson and stars his son, Hunter Carson. We have just confirmed that both Hunter and Kit will join us for the screening on Thursday, and we’ll chat with the pair in a post-film Q&A.
But that’s not all, as with all of our Kessler Theater screenings this summer, the night will be opened with a performance by Barry Kooda. Then, before the feature, we’ll screen the short film “For Rent” by local director Madison Liane and staring none other than Paris, Texas star Hunter Carson.
Doors open at 6 p.m. You won’t want to miss this. Here’s all the info you need.
More Tickets To This Sunday’s Closing Celebration for Martin Creed at the Nasher
Yesterday’s we gave away a few passes to the Nasher Sculpture Center’s celebration for the closing of the Martin Creed exhibition, and they went fast. If you missed out, here’s a second chance: we have EIGHT pairs to giveaway over on FrontRow, so head over there an find out how to win.
And while you over on FrontRow, check out some of today’s highlights, which include an article on singer Johnny Mathis; five questions with charismatic heavy metal bass player/Boiler Room owner Stevie Benton of Drowning Pool; an interview with artist/filmmaker Miranda July, whose The Future opens tomorrow (check back tomorrow morning for reviews of all of this week’s movie releases); a recap of last night’s appearance by Ken Burns sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association, where the filmmaker talked about his new documentary on prohibition; and another giveaway, tickets for Johnny Mathis at the Meyerson.
Local Editor Gives Opinions About Movies on Television
Our own Peter Simek from FrontRow fame was on Good Morning Texas this morning, running down his picks for the worst movies of the summer. Be amazed:
Come in Costume to Bottle Rocket Tomorrow and Win Tickets to Paris, Texas
We hope you are planning on joining us this Thursday at the Kessler Theater for our screening of Wes Anderson and the Wilson brothers’ debut, Bottle Rocket, the latest in our “Dallas, Outlaws, and the American Dream” film series. And if watching a great movie with a live audience on a big screen — not to mention an opening performance by Texas singer-songwriters Kevin Deal and Miles Penhall in the Kessler’s bar — wasn’t enough, we’re now adding an extra twist to the evening. Show up tomorrow night in a costume inspired by Bottle Rocket and win free tickets to our screening of Paris, Texas, which will close this summer’s series in August.
And speaking of Paris, Texas, we’ve added to that bill. Dallas’ own Hunter Carson, who stars in Wim Wenders’ 1984 Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece, will join us on August 25th. We’ll screen the new short film, “For Rent,” which stars Hunter, before the feature, and then Hunter will join us on stage for a post-film Q&A. You won’t want to miss it.
Where You Should Be This Thursday: Watching Bottle Rocket at the Kessler Theater
This Thursday evening we’ll continue FrontRow’s latest film series, entitled “Dallas, Outlaws, and the American Dream,” with a screening of Wes Anderson’s debut film, Bottle Rocket. Doors open at 6 p.m. and before the screening, there will be live music from Kevin Deal and Miles Penhall.
Now, assuming you have all seen the comic masterpiece commonly referred to as “the best movie ever made in Dallas” (because if you haven’t, you need to be there Thursday), ask yourself:
When was the last time I saw Bottle Rocket on a big screen?
When was the last time I saw Bottle Rocket with a live audience?
When was the last time I hung out at a restored movie theater/music venue, caught performances by a pair of Texas singer-songwriters, and then watched one of the funniest movies ever made, which just happens to star Dallas’ own boy wonders, Owen and Luke Wilson, not to mention the great Bob Musgrave and James Caan?
Never? Been a while? Right. See you Thursday.
Larry McMurtry Rips The Last Picture Show
It was the book that thrust Larry McMurtry, the dean of Texas literature, into the American mainstream. And it was the movie that, in 1971, garnered eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. And now McMurtry says it was a “spiteful” book that took just three weeks to write and was intended to “lance some of the poisons of small-town life,” and that Cybill Shepherd, the young (in 1971) chest-bearing star of the film, “couldn’t act a lick.” He did note, however, that she was “real pretty.” More, including video of McMurtry talking before a recent screening of the film in Archer City, here.
Actor Michael Rapaport On the Mavericks Win
You know actor Michael Rapaport loves basketball. How much does he love it? At the 2010 NBA All Star Game celebrity game, he stole the MVP award from Terrell Owens, who had won it previously for two years straight.
So Rapaport just happened to be in Dallas today, not for the Mavs parade, but holed up in a hotel doing a press junket for his new documentary on the seminal hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest called Beats, Rhymes, & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest.
We’ll have more of his thoughts on Tribe and his movie on FrontRow closer to the open date on July 29. But more pressingly, what does Rapaport think of the Mavs win?
I’m so glad to be in Dallas. I wish I could have went to the parade, I mean, I was really happy that the Mavericks won. I really was rooting for them. I’ve always like this team. I’m a Knicks fan, but I’ve always like the Mavericks. I love Dirk Nowitzki. I love Mark Cuban. And I just think it is great for the NBA. And I think it might just wind up being one of the best things that happens to LeBron James because I think it is just going to push him to be even better than he already is.
Reminder: “Dallas, Outlaws, and the American Dream” Film Series Kicks Off Thursday Night
Come to think of it, I should probably have called FrontRow’s latest film series “Dallas, Mavericks, and the American Dream,” but it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Regardless, since we will all likely be nursing beers beginning at about 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, what better way to celebrate our city’s newest heroes than celebrating two of our city’s greatest anti-heroes? We will screen Arthur Penn’s groundbreaking shoot ‘em up romance, Bonnie and Clyde, tomorrow evening at the Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff. Plus, music in the Kessler bar before the show. Come throw some back with us.
All the information you will ever need about the series is right here, and, as a bonus, one of the greatest songs . . . ever:
This Week on FrontRow
Ahead of your weekend planning, catch up on everything that has been going down on FrontRow this week. In the world of theater, we have reviews of Undermain’s brilliant race-study, The Shipment, Broken Gears’ acting switcheroo, The Hand, and the lackluster Broadway musical, Billy Elliot, which landed at the Winspear this week. Also, The Shipment is directed by SMU’s Stan Wojewodski, and our own Liz Johnstone has the story of the former head of Yale’s drama school’s long relationship with the wonderful little theater downstairs on Main Street. And this summer we’ll be looking at the characters behind the local theater beginning with Lee Trull, the starving actor who landed his dream job. Oh, and have we told you about the dancer from Fort Worth who trained Natalie Portman and the boys in Billy Elliot?
In the art world, we have a review of Marcelyn McNeil’s lovely abstracts at Conduit, as well as this week’s gallery openings. Also, we’ve launched a new series this week that looks at a work from our local museums’ permanent collections. For the first installment, Courbet’s The Fox in the Snow.
Big happenings in the local dance scene this weekend with the debut of Bruce Wood’s latest project. But can the acclaimed choreographer fill the void for real employment for Dallas-Fort Worth dancers?
And, of course, we have reviews of the latest films to hit movie theaters, including Super 8, Beginners, Submarine, Blank City, and the seductive French historical drama, The Princess of Montpensier.
Finally, a couple of plugs: join us at D Magazine’s office on June 20 for a conversation about the local theater scene with a panel of local critics, as well as Veletta Lill and Stan Wojewodski. And don’t forget, next week we kick off the first installment of our latest film series, “Dallas, Outlaws, and the American Dream,” and we will screen Bonnie and Clyde at the Kessler Theater on June 16. More info on the series, including the ideas behind its theme, here.
Catching Up With FrontRow
Liz will surely be around to give you the full weekend rundown, but here’s an update on what has been going on on FrontRow this week:
There’s some good theater out there, including WaterTower’s Shooting Star and Ochre House’s macabre comedy The Butcher. The Fort Worth Opera Festival is still in full swing. Verdi’s Il Trovatore closes tonight. Handel’s Julius Caesar does Baroque opera justice. And don’t miss Philip Glass’s Hydrogen Jukebox.
We also have your gallery openings covered, but of what’s already open, check out the offerings at Conduit (more on their current shows next week), as well as Marty Walker, The Mac, and The Reading Room (by the way, Joyce-lovers keep your eyes open for The Reading Room’s Bloomsday celebration June 16). Oh, and Vicente at the Meadows is rather nice as well.
But if you were me, I’d say spend the next few hot days locked in a movie theater. X-Men: First Class, Paris in Midnight, and The Tree of Life are all well worth your time.
That is all.
Go Mavs.
FrontRow’s New Film Series: ‘Dallas, Outlaws, and the American Dream’
We’re showing Bonnie and Clyde, Bottle Rocket, and Paris, Texas at the Kessler Theater beginning June 16. Plus, KNON’s Texas Renegade Radio is sponsoring musicians in the Kessler’s bar before each screening. It’s all about our love of sex and guns, so how could you miss it? Click for more info about the series and how to get tickets.
Malcolm McDowell Says He’s Not That Scary
The DMN’s Chris Vognar called Malcolm McDowell “pretty scary” in a story the other day, but the actorbest-known for his hooligan’s role in A Clockwork Orange says he’s far from a scary
guy. Even so, “I’ll take it. It’s good acting, isn’t it?” McDowell [pictured] said at a party in Dallas Friday night. “I think my wife is more scary than I am.”
The British-born McDowell doesn’t even think Terrence McQuewick, the Hollywood agent [warning: clip's for adults only] he plays on TV’s Entourage, is an especially scary character. “He operates in a sea of sharks. Hollywood is crazy,” said McDowell, in town for appearances at the USA Film Festival and Texas Frightmare Weekend. “I’m very fond of Terrence. In fact I would have liked him as my agent.
“Where Ari [Gold] is ego-driven and out of control, Terrence is more cultured. He enjoys the life of it, the wealth,” McDowell went on. “A lot of agents thought I’d based Terrence on them, but I didn’t. He was ballsy with Ari; he wouldn’t take any s*** off him.” McDowell said he hopes Terrence will reappear on the popular HBO series, which is scheduled to end with 10 episodes this summer after eight seasons.
Bassett: Good Roles a “Struggle” Regardless of Race
Actress Angela Bassett was not about to get drawn into a spat between moviemakers Spike Lee and Tyler Perry over blacks in film. The tiff flared up recently when Perry took a potshot at Lee after Lee ripped Perry’s successful Madea comedy flicks for their supposedly unflattering representations of African-American culture. Said an article about the feud, and Perry’s popularity, on Tina Brown’s Daily Beast website: “Top [black] talent would surely prefer to have other options in film roles if they were available. They aren’t. Just ask Angela Bassett.”
In Dallas with the rest of the cast Saturday for a party celebrating T.D. Jakes’ new movie, Jumping the Broom, Bassett–who starred in Perry’s Meet the Browns–said finding good roles is “always a struggle” for any actor or actress, regardless of their color. “An actor always thinks there’s more” and better roles out there, added Bassett (shown in photo by Jeanne Prejean). “I’m my own unique individual, and I like what I like.” Bassett, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got To Do with It, said she’ll be playing Dr. Amanda Waller in Green Lantern, a new film due out in June, and also is set to star in Identity, an ABC-TV crime pilot.
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