Odds and Ends

January 14, 2015 at 10:57 am

Saw PREDESTINATION at the Cocteau on opening night, and thought it was terrific… and very faithful to the Heinlein story. Ethan Hawke was very good, and Sarah Snook was great. This one will be on my Hugo nominations ballot, for sure. See it at the Cocteau if you're in Santa Fe, or at your own favorite movie palace if you're not, but see it… especially if you like time travel, SF, and RAH.

We had a great event with Carrie Vaughn on a very cold Monday night, and she signed a ton of stock for us before heading back Colorado way. If you're looking for an autographed copy of LOW MIDNIGHT, or indeed, any of the Kitty books, we've got them. They should be up on the Cocteau website "Signed Books" page very soon, and available for purchase. For the Wild Cards fans out there, Carrie also signed copies of the INSIDE STRAIGHT and BUSTED FLUSH hardcovers with her stories.

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We also expect to be adding some signed Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon, and the Spanish language (Mexican) editions of my own Ice & FIre books, so watch the page, you'll see them soon. Meanwhile, we have autographed books by NEIL GAIMAN, DENNIS LEHANE, JUNOT DIAZ, and LEV GROSSMAN, all currently available at the theatre, or by mailorder.

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Tags: jean cocteau, movie theatre, movies, signed books

Heinlein at the Cocteau

January 5, 2015 at 6:57 pm

They used to call Robert A. Heinlein "the Dean of Science Fiction." For writers and readers of my geneation, and those before, Heinlein was a towering figure, the most important and iuential of the 'Big Three' of the Golden Age.

The first SF book I ever read was Heinlein's classic juvenile, HAVE SPACE SUIT, WILL TRAVEL. It made me a SF reader for life. For decades thereafter, RAH was my favorite writer. He was the first writer to win the 'Big One' — the Hugo Award for best novel — four times. (A record later equalled, but still never surpassed). But like many of his contemporaries, Heinlein did some of his best work at shorter lengths.

"All You Zombies" is one of those classic short stories. Like time travel yarns? Time paradoxes? "All You Zombies" was… is… will remain THE last word on all those subjects. And now, improbably, it has been made into a movie.

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PREDESTINATION opens this week at the Jean Cocteau. I haven't seen it, but those who have (friends from Australia, where the film opened last summer) tell me that it's 1) quite good, and 2) quite faithful to the Heinlein story.

Must admit, I don't much like the title. I can see why they changed it — "All You Zombies" would have had people thinking it was a George Romero picture or a WALKING DEAD ripoff, when actually the use of 'zombie' is entirely metaphorical — but I wish they would have changed it to something a bit catchier.

But a rose by any other name… I am looking forward to this one. If you're a Heinlein fan, or a time travel fan, don't miss it.

See you at the movies.

(No spoilers in the comments, please).

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Tags: jean cocteau, movies, sf

Happy Holidays

December 25, 2014 at 10:58 am

Merry Xmas to all. Hope Santa was good to you.

(Maybe some of you found THE WORLD OF ICE & FIRE under the tree. Or THE ICE DRAGON).

Those of you near one of the 300 independent theatres showing THE INTERVIEW today, do go and take in a show, and help us make a statement.

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Tags: everyday life, good causes, movies

We Got It!

December 23, 2014 at 4:50 pm

Just got off the phone with Jon Bowman, the booker at the Jean Cocteau Cinema. Jon just got off the phone with Sony.

THE INTERVIEW will open at the Cocteau on Christmas Day. Four shows: 2pm, 4:30, 7pm, and 9:30.

We were otherwise going to be closed on Christmas. We're opening just for this film, and will devote the whole day to it.

We have booked a full run, so THE INTERVIEW will continue to run for two weeks, in rotation with the other films that we had already committed too before this all broke.

We may schedule some midnight shows if there's enough demand.

So come join us, and celebrate Christmas… and free speech… with Seth Rogen.

CHRISTMAS EVE ADDENDUM: All four of our Christmas Day showings are completely sold out. Tickets for the Friday shows are going fast, and those will probably sell out as well. We are adding extra shows on Saturday to accommodate the demand.

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Tags: censorship, jean cocteau, movies

Sony to Release THE INTERVIEW

December 23, 2014 at 11:39 am

Exciting news this morning. Sony has announced that it will show THE INTERVIEW on Christmas Day at "selected theatres."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/23/sony-the-interview-screenings_n_6373096.html

Our friends at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin have already booked it.

We at the Jean Cocteau are trying to do the same.

Watch this space for further details.

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Tags: censorship, jean cocteau, movies

Twists and Turns

December 22, 2014 at 12:59 am

Sony's stance on THE INTERVIEW seems to take a new twist every day.

Now we are told that, yes, they are going to release the film. They are just not sure how.

Of course, this all depends on who you believe.

THE NEW YORK POST says they plan to release it on Crackle, their own streaming internet service:
http://nypost.com/2014/12/21/sony-plans-to-release-the-interview-on-crackle-for-free/

Other sources say the POST is wrong:
http://www.slashfilm.com/interview-on-crackle/

Bit Torrent says that it is willing to show the film:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/21/bittorrent-tells-sony-its-happy-to-release-the-interview/

I don't know about any of this.

What I do know is that Sony's statement that it "had no choice" but to cancel the film's release is plainly false. It had plenty of choices, and still does.

The best of those choices, I believe, is to open THE INTERVIEW in theatres on Christmas Day, as originally planned. I have been in communication with the owners and operators of other independent cinemas and arthouses, and representatives of some of the smaller chains, and I know that hundreds of these venues would gladly screen this film, if only Sony will make it available. Regal and AMC and the megaplexes may have caved, but the independents have not. Sony could have the film on five hundred screens by Christmas, if it wants to. And I would love for the Jean Cocteau to be one of them.

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Tags: censorship, jean cocteau, movie theatre, movies, politics

Corporate Cowardice

December 17, 2014 at 9:27 pm

This one is surreal.

In a stunning display of corporate cowardice, Regal, AMC, and every other major theatre chain in the United States have cancelled their plans to show the new Seth Rogen/ James Franco comedy THE INTERVIEW, because of — yes, seriously, this is not a SOUTH PARK sketch (though I expect it soon will be) — threats from North Korea.

Not familiar with THE INTERVIEW? Here's the trailer:

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I mean, really? REALLY?? These gigantic corporations, most of which could buy North Korea with pocket change, are declining to show a film because Kim Jong-Un objects to being mocked?

The level of corporate cowardice here astonishes me. It's a good thing these guys weren't around when Charlie Chaplin made THE GREAT DICTATOR. If Kim Jong-Un scares them, Adolf Hitler would have had them shitting in their smallclothes.

Even Sony, which made the movie, is going along. There are thousands of small independent theatres across the country, like my own, that would gladly screen THE INTERVIEW, regardless of the threats from North Korea, but instead of shifting the film to those venues, Sony has cancelled its scheduled Christmas rollout entirely.

I haven't seen THE INTERVIEW. I have no idea how good or bad a film it is. It might be hilarious. It might be stupid and offensive and outrageous. (Actually, I am pretty sure about the 'outrageous' part). It might be all of the above.

That's not the point, though. Whether it's the next CITIZEN KANE or the next PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, it astonishes me that a major Hollywood film could be killed before release by threats from a foreign power and anonymous hackers.

For what it's worth, the Jean Cocteau Cinema will be glad to screen THE INTERVIEW (assuming that Sony does eventually release the film for theatrical exhibition, rather than streaming it or dumping it as a direct-to-DVD release), should it be made available to us. Come to Santa Fe, Seth, we'll show your film for you.

POSTSCRIPT: DECEMBER 20

Not content with pulling the film, Sony has now pulled the trailers as well, so the YouTube video I embedded above no longer works.

Here's a replacement from YouTube that's dead on point:

<lj-embed id=”529″/>

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Tags: movie theatre, movies, politics

Coolness at the Cocteau

September 18, 2014 at 1:03 pm

We had a great event at the Jean Cocteau Cinema last week, when Dennis Lehane came by to present his new movie, THE DROP. A fun interview, a busy booksigning, and a sold-out screening… everybody went away smiling, and Dennis seemed to enjoy his first visit to the Land of Enchantment, and promises to come back one of these days. He also signed a lot of stock for us, so if any of you out there are looking for an autographed copy of MYSTIC RIVER, SHUTTER ISLAND, THE GIVEN DAY, THE DROP, or any of Lehane's titles, contact the cinema.

The Cocteau schedule for this week will be even more exciting. On Sunday night, September 21, our friends NEIL GAIMAN and AMANDA PALMER will be paying us another visit, for an evening of singing, signing, and storytelling. The fun starts at 7pm… but, alas, if you don't have tickets yet, you're probably out of luck, since that event sold out within hours of us announcing it on our email newsletter. (Don't get our newsletter? Easily fixed. Go to the website at http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/ and sign up. Newsletter subscribers get first crack at all of our coolest events).

The Cocteau will also be presenting THE COMPANY OF WOLVES, director Neil Jordan's twisted take on Little Red Riding Hood, based on the classic story by Angela Carter. Neil Gaiman picked this film for us, and we've asked him to introduce it. The movie starts at 9:20.

Our bar will be serving The Deflowering, a specialty cocktail designed for us by Amanda Palmer.

All in all, a busy Sunday. That's just the start, however.

Come Wednesday, September 24, we have another very special event scheduled: a special advance screening of COPENHAGEN, a film by Mark Raso, fresh off the festival circuit and well in advance of its North American release. Here's the trailer:

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Director MARK RASO and star GETHIN ANTHONY will both be on hand for the COPENHAGEN screening, to introduce the film and answer your questions afterwards. Gethin, of course, is well known to GAME OF THRONES fans as the late, great Renly Baratheon, brother to Robert and Stannis, husband to Margaery Tyrell, lover of her brother Loras. Come meet him at the Jean Cocteau… advance tickets to the screening are still available at the Cocteau website.

See you at the movies.

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Tags: jean cocteau, movie theatre, movies, music, neil & amanda

Lehane Drops By

September 11, 2014 at 12:24 am

If you love great writing… great movies… great books… you'll want to be at the Jean Cocteau Cinema this Saturday. We've got another amazing event lined up for those of you in Santa Fe and its suburbs (you know, Los Alamos, Espanola, Bernalillo, Rio Rancho, Albuquerque), and any lucky tourists passing through. DENNIS LEHANE will be here, and he's bringing THE DROP.

If you don't know Lehane… well, what rock have you been hiding under? He's the author of GONE BABY GONE, MYSTIC RIVER, and SHUTTER ISLAND, all of which have been made into terrific movies… but the novels are even better. He's also written some other novels that haven't been made into movies (yet), and those are just as good. My favorite is THE GIVEN DAY, a historical about the Boston Police Strike. He's also done screenplays and teleplays, including some great episodes of BOARDWALK EMPIRE and THE WIRE.

Dennis has a new novel just out: THE DROP. And the movie will soon follow. VERY soon, like this month. Simultaneous release, something I can't think I've ever seen before. THE DROP stars Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, and the late great James Gandolfini. Here's a taste.

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Anyway, we'll have the book, the movie, AND the author.

Saturday 6:00 we'll have an author event with Dennis, the usual mix of reading, interview, Q&A, and booksigning. We'll talk about THE DROP, his other books, his TV work, whatever you want to talk about, and of course we'll have books for signing. Free admission with purchase of a hardcover, $5 with purchase of a paperback, $10 admission without a book purchase.

At 8:00 pm we'll have a sneak preview screening of the film. FREE, first come first seating.

And of course we'll have beer, wine, cocktails, and the best popcorn in the state, as ever.

I'll be there. Hope you will too.

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Tags: jean cocteau, movies, signings

A Rare Treat

September 2, 2014 at 11:52 pm

I've missed some great films at the Cocteau these past two months while I've been globehopping.

But I'm home now, and we have some terrific offerings coming up at Santa Fe's hometown movie theatre in the weeks to come… starting this Sunday, when we'll be screening Richard Donner's LADYHAWKE. Not only one of the greatest fantasy films ever made (ignore that bloody soundtrack please), but one of the great romances as well.

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And for all the fans and cinephiles and aspiring screenwriters out there, we have a very special treat: LADYHAWKE will be introduced by Santa Fe's own ED KHMURA, the film's screenwriter, who will talk about how the movie came to be, and the challenges of making it.

ED KHMURA
AMhat

LADYHAWKE will screen on Sunday, starting at 6:30.

Come join Ed and me and Melinda Snodgrass, and (on the silver screen) Michelle Pfeiffer, Rutger Hauer, and Matthew Broderick, sample a great fantasy, and enjoy one of our specialty cocktails and New Mexico's best popcorn at the Jean Cocteau.

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Tags: jean cocteau, movies

Not a Blog

Odds and Ends

Heinlein at the Cocteau

Happy Holidays

We Got It!

Sony to Release THE INTERVIEW

Twists and Turns

Corporate Cowardice

Coolness at the Cocteau

Lehane Drops By

A Rare Treat

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