Long the king of Manhattan-based comedy movies, Woody Allen returned to his native island for last year’s “Whatever Works” after a five-film, five-year stand shooting films in England and Spain. Alas few of the New Yorkers who usually turn out for the Brooklyn-born director’s real-estate-porn and upper-class-ennui smirkfests bought tickets to the critically panned “Whatever Works”, leaving it with ... Read More »
John Baxter’s new book, The Golden Moments of Paris, got exciting reviews.Here’s the review by June Sawyers of the Chicago Trubune. Paris, especially the Paris between the two world wars, continues to resonate with many people around the globe. The city has had many golden ages but probably none as famous as the 1920s: the Paris of the Lost ... Read More »
Over the years, director Woody Allen has captured some of the the world’s most iconic cities on film. The most recent to get the auteur’s treatment is “To Rome with Love.” With the movie in mind, we looked to Rome’s past to see the history behind the locations in the film. Hayley and Michelangelo at Fontana di Trevi Fontana di ... Read More »
Rome: They don’t call it the Eternal City for nothing. From the ancient empire to the modern day, it has enthralled the imagination. On the silver screen it’s been captured in some cinema’s most iconic films: ‘Roman Holiday’, ‘La Dolce Vita’, and, most recently, in Woody Allen’s brand new ‘To Rome with Love’. Discover la dolce vita for ... Read More »
Nestled comfortably in what was once a quaint suburb of Faubourg Saint-Germain (now Paris’s upscale 7th arrondissement), the stunningly chic Hôtel Biron was built between the years of 1728 and 1730. The beauty of both its exterior and lushly appointed interior, no doubt struck the several artists who took temporary residence there, such as Jean Cocteau, Henri Matisse, and lastly, ... Read More »
Woody Allen’s newest film delves into the psyche of an American screenwriter whom like so many before him, have fallen in love with Paris. Except in the case of Owen Wilson’s character, Gil, it is specifically the Paris of the 1920s which intrigues him. When a midnight stroll leads him into the Paris of his dreams, Gil finds the inspiration ... Read More »
Chicago Food Film Festival 2010 Trailer from George Motz on Vimeo. It is the last weekend in September, where has the Summer gone? Time for Fall leaves, apple picking, Halloween and wearing lots and lots of plaid. If you are in Chicago this weekend, make sure and check out the first annual Food and Film Festival where all the ... Read More »
Opening in the 1950s, the hip Cafe Wha played host to some of the greatest of its generation. Young writers and singers, such as Alan Ginsberg and Bob Dylan, came to drink and perform here and comedians Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Joan Rivers, Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor all received an early start on the Cafe Wha stage. In ... Read More »
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