More of Phoenix tomorrow

See to have problems posting anything this time, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Silence on the sands

Today has been a relatively quiet one foe me with little on the movie scene I'd like to attend, although I did miss getting to Vincent Gallo's new movie 'Promises Written in Water'. This tells the story of a terminally ill girl who asks a guy to arrange for her to be cremated, so he gets a job in a funeral home for practice. Sounds exciting doesn't it.
The Lido has been fairly quiet owing to the dull, windy & changeable weather, so no sun bathing or swiming between sessions.

Casey is still here

Joaquin Phoenis prepares to go on stage in Miami

Sala Grande gave a standing ovation to Casey Affleck (Robert Ford in 2008 Jesse James film) before and after the first showing of his strangely compelling 'I'm Still Here'. Written & directed by Affleck & Joaquin Phoenix, it presents a documentary of Phoenix attempts to leave the world of actor & become a hip hop performer. More to follow on this sad, funny, interesting & clever movie.

Scorsese's Moving Movie

Elia Kazan

With another 1 hour+ queueing, in blustery conditions, I  finally managed to get to see Scorsese's 'A Letter to Elia' in the smallest viewing theatre I've seen for a while.
There's more to follow on the post once I have got hold of some movie stills & a little more info, but this is a very interesting, moving & inspiring tribute. The mix of documentary, Scorsese's voice over & film sequences makes for a fascinating portrait of Elia Kazan - the man & his work. This will make it all the more important to re-visit the likes of 'East of Eden' & 'America, America'.
Next stop Casey Affleck's 'I'm Still Here'.

What's on TV?

Martin Scorsese

As usual Mostra 67 has managed to oversell its tickets, preventing large numbers of media people for seeing the screenings they've travelled hundreds of miles to see. Despite queueing for over 45 minutes I was denied entry to Martin Scorsese's 'A Letter to Elia'.
Even without those to whom queueing seems to be an alien passtime, I was still 40 from the front when the doors closed. Eagle eyed watchers of any film coverage of the screening will probably spot at least 60 empty seats  scattered throughout the theatre.
This annoying trend, magnified annually  by the seeming inability to organise things better, makes one ask whether it's worth the cost - there is also a growing reluctance to allow bonafide journalists into press conferences in favour of autograph humters. What's the Italian for 'do you sell the Radio Times'?