Movies

QFEST: Win tickets to see Simply Barbra with Streisand impersonator Steven Brinberg tomorrow -- WE HAVE OUR WINNER

POSTED: Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 5:19 PM

Filed Under: Movies Film Fest

Steven Bringberg as Barbra Streisand

Sad to say, but our QFest giveaways are coming to a close. But dry your eyes, 'cause this last prize is the grand dame of all that is QFest giveaways. As part of the fest's Barbrapalooza, Streisand impersonator extraordinaire Steven Brinberg will take the stage as Lovely Lady S at the The Arts Banks (601 S. Broad St.) tomorrow and we want you to go! Here's what QFest has to say about Brinberg:

Join Steven Brinberg, the internationally acclaimed Barbra Streisand impressionist, for this special performance of his show, Simply Barbra. The show is so good, even Ms Streisand herself approves. The affectionate homage, peppered with humor, captures vintage Babs from the late '60s to the early '70s, complete with her famous personality, idiosyncrasies and mannerisms. Brinberg sings â with uncanny accuracy â some of her most famous hits such as Don't Rain on My Parade, Evergreen, Memories, On A Clear Day, People and The Way We Were. A wonderfully written, amazingly performed show.

BUT WAIT: Before we get down to the trivia question, we first gotta mention that Barbra Karaoke, which Josh Middleton told you about in his QFest events round-up, is no longer at Voyeur. Instead, you'll have to belt "People" at McGillins (1310 Drury St., 215-735-5562). Back to business people!: To win two tickets to tomorrow's performance, just e-mail the answers to the questions below to molly [dot] eichel [at] citypaper [dot] net. Congrats to Jackie M.!

What is Barbra's middle name?

Joan

For what film did Barbra become the first woman to co-write, produce, direct and star in a motion picture?

Yentl

What is the name of Barbra's film production company?

Barwood Films

Simply Barbra, Thu., July 15, 8 p.m., $20-$25, Arts Bank, 601 S. Broad St.

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 5:19 PM Permalink | Post a comment

The Alamo Drafthouse rolls through Philly with a Rocky extravaganza

POSTED: Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 7:48 PM

Filed Under: Movies Scenester

Austin's Alama Drafthouse will make cinephile salivate, screening arthouse/indie fare, rep films and special events like movie quote-alongs, ala Rocky Horror Picture Show. It seems like even the ticket takers have a degree in a cinema studies and I've wished in vain that Philly had a comparable movie house. Plus, you can order beer there. The Drafthouse takes their act on the road with Alamo's Rolling Roadshow, where they screen movies in pertinent places — Field of Dreams in an Iowa cornfield, Deliverance on the Guadalupe River, North by Northwest at Mount Rushmore. Finally, Philly gets its time to shine with a Rocky-palooza at the Art Museum on Thu., Aug. 19. Snooze. Can we cool it with the Rocky already? Even Welcome America! thought of the gimmick first, screened Rocky at the Art Museum a couple weeks ago and y'all know how hip they are. The Roadshow switches it up by screening the first three films in the series (watch one of the more homoerotic training montages of all time from Rocky III — aka, Sly v. Mr. T — above) rather than just the first. This is even more insulting considering they stop shy of Rocky IV, which is features the Rock single-handedly defeating Communism. Sure, there are comparatively few shots of Philadelphia and the Art Museum training ground is traded in for rural Russia, but a) Paulie has a pet robot, and b) if there's one movie that should be shown in the Cradle of Liberty, it's the film where a Kenzo boxer can end the Cold War. WITH HIS FISTS. Maybe next time Alamo comes through, they could do Trading Places in Rittenhouse Square? Or Mannequin in the Wannamaker Building? Or Witness (starring QFest honoree Kelly McGillis) at 30th Street Station? Goddamn, even In Her Shoes at the Jamaican Jerk Hut would be a change of pace. Let's a try a little harder next time, shall we?

Jay Lee

Posted 2010-07-15 01:28:39

Maybe you guys should put together a public screening of "In Her Shoes", "Marley and Me" or "Fat Albert". I'm sure it would be awesome.

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 7:48 PM Permalink | Post a comment

QFEST: Win tickets to a screening of Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child tomorrow -- WE HAVE OUR WINNER

POSTED: Monday, July 12, 2010, 8:11 PM

Filed Under: Movies Film Fest

Tamra Davis may have directed Britney Spears' starring vehicle, Crossroads, but don't hold that against the poor woman, who was always a stronger music video director anyway (and has recently made a name for herself in TV). Davis was buds with street art wunderkind Jean-Michel Basquiat and the personal footage she shot of the doomed artist has gone unseen until now. We've got two tickets to see Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child tomorrow and we want you to have 'em! All you have to do is e-mail molly [dot] eichel [at] citypaper [dot] net with the answer to this trivia question:

Basquiat cameos in what 1981 music video? What musician did he replace because the original selection did not show up?

Blondie's "Rapture," Grandmaster Flash

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, Tue., July 13, 7:15 p.m., Ritz East, 125 S. Second St.

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 8:11 PM Permalink | Post a comment

QFest: Win tickets to see Funny Girl tomorrow!

POSTED: Friday, July 9, 2010, 7:00 PM

Filed Under: Movies Film Fest

We know you've read every inch of our QFest coverage, but we did leave one very important thing out of the print edition: BARBRAPALOOZA!! Everything's coming up Barbra at this year's fest, with Streisand Karaoke (which Josh Middleton told you about in his events round-up), a performance by the one and only Babs-impersonator extraordinaire Steven Brinberg and a screening of William Wyler's classic Funny Girl. We've got tickets to the screening and we want you to go! All you have to do to win two tickets is e-mail the answers to these trivia questions to molly [dot] eichel [at] citypaper [dot] net:

Babs won an Oscar for her portrayal of Fanny Brice. With whom did she share the honor?

Fanny Brice is a stage name. What was the comedienne's given name?

Don't forget to check back later in the week when we give away two tickets to see Steven Brinberg!

Funny Girl, Sat., July 10, 7 p.m., $9-$10, Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad St., 215-446-3027â.

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 7:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

INTERVIEW with the directors of SONS OF PERDITION: "They have no idea that I just spent four years publicly disparaging their God."

POSTED: Friday, July 9, 2010, 3:00 PM

Filed Under: Movies screening

Sam from Sons of Perdition

Sons of Perdition follows three boys exiled from their polygamist communities in Colorado City, AZ. Directors Jennilyn Merten and Tyler Measom provide viewers with an unseen side of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints religion and its demanding leader Warren Jeffs through Bruce, Sam and Joe. Filmed over a period of three years, the boys stumble through life outside their faith — sex, drugs, and partying included. The directors, like their subjects, are also ex-Mormons, who left the faith in their 20s. "It wasn't as traumatic as it was for the kids but it was a story that was kind of close to our hearts in terms of leaving your religion, struggling to find a new faith and dealing with your family," says Merten. I caught up with the directors via conference call as they spent time on opposite sides of the country — Merten in New York and Meason in Utah. Their film will be shown tonight as part of the PUFF screening series. City Paper: How did you go about finding Bruce, Sam, and Joe? Jennilyn Merten: We set out to find some kids and met a social worker who was helping some of them. He introduced us to a couple of the kids who weren't real great, actually a couple of them told us to fuck off. They've been taught their whole lives that outsiders are evil and they're going to do horrible things to you. It took a little bit of work to gain their trust. But eventually we discovered this underground railroad community of kids, mostly boys living on their own. Tyler Measom: We were really fortunate to find those three. We had met a number, but those three had each of their particular stories and each of their particular different determinations and backgrounds of sorts. CP: It did add a lot to the movie that each of their characters are so different. TM: Yeah, Sam just wears his emotions right on his sleeve for everyone to see and that's something we really liked. JM: And then Bruce is our comic relief, he kind of keeps things light but he also had a very extraordinary story with his dad being separated from his mom and being kicked out by Warren. And then Joe of course is our shy kid but he's an old soul. His story happened unexpectedly when he started helping his mom and sister get out. But that also took off and became an additional storyline. CP: There's a moment in the film when you are with Joe as he helps his sister, Hillary, escape. Were you afraid something would happen to you because you were helping him? TM: We were always looking over our shoulders anytime we were in Colorado City. They were definitely aware of us, but to be honest with you it just happened so fast that we didn't have time to know what to do, what to say, what to think. In between trying to help her out we were also trying to cover it with two cameras going on at one time and record what was happening. So really we just went into auto-pilot. JM: We had to do what needed to be done, but there were times where it was really scary. The movie only shows two or three escapes but we went through six or seven escapes with Hillary. We drove her across state lines, searched for her in the desert. It definitely was an intense experience for us.

CP: Did you decide from the beginning that you were going to have this kind of relationship with the boys or were there set boundaries from the beginning? TM: I think it just organically happened. They were searching for, I wouldn't say parental, but they definitely found something in Jenni and me as an older couple that would give them advice. We're human beings first and filmmakers second. Or maybe third or fourth, depending on what day it is. CP: What's going on with the boys now? Are they following a lot of media surrounding the movie? TM: In fact, I'm down here in St. George [Utah] right now. I drove through Colorado City yesterday to just kind of revisit the place. They're very leery of outsiders and it was very strange to walk around them. I went into the dairy to buy a box of cheese and I realized they have no idea that I just spent four years publicly disparaging their God. It was a really strange experience. Sam is here and I saw him last night and we take [the boys] to the film festivals. We've done three film festivals so far and we've taken them to each of them. They love the adulation. Sometimes it's very hard for them. People watch the film and they feel like they know them, like they just watched them grow up. People tell them 'it means a lot to me' and 'it changes the way I look at my family.' They've realized the gravity of it. JM: The kids are very involved with the film. They've traveled with us, they get on Facebook and talk to people, and they get e-mails. They are still kids in a way but it's been a huge growing experience for them. The traveling part of the film has been just as interesting to them as being in it. TM: Plus they like the free drinks that come from the film festivals. CP: I feel the same way as probably a lot of fans, I feel like I know them now. They did a great job just being honest. TM: A good portion of it is that they didn't know. They knew we were filming a documentary but they really didn't know while we were filming that three years later there would be 400 people sitting in an audience watching it. Most of the time we set the camera down on the side so we could look them in the eye and they'd forget the camera was there. We had very different dichotomies with them. They wouldn't want to open up necessarily in front of me so much, they wanted to be tough or funny. There were a lot of the times when Jenni would shoot and I would just calmly stroll out and she'd get something beautiful out of them. CP: ...So the benefit of having two directors. JM: And having a male and female. They still have very traditional sense of gender roles and things like that. So they would see me sort of their mom and be more emotional and personal with me because I don't keep up the masculine front. CP: Speaking of a masculine front, how did you guys get recordings of Warren Jeffs' sermons for the film? TM: From an exile who had left. They're not allowed to listen to any music or unless it is approved by Warren Jeffs. So 90 percent of what they listened to is Warren Jeff's sermons or Warren Jeff's songs. Sure enough I actually stumbled upon him singing Bob Dylan songs. He would cover these songs and pass them off as his. When this woman left she had an iPod with a bunch of the sermons so I pulled them off of that. I mean we probably listened to 100 or more hours of these sermons. JM: It was very brutal. TM: Incredibly shocking some of the things he'd say. Just unbelievable.

Sons of Perdition, Fri., July 9, 8:30 p.m., free, Piazza at Schmidts, 1050 N. Hancock St., atthepiazza.com.

Posted by Lauren Macaluso @ 3:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

QFest: Win tickets to opening night flick Elena Undone -- WE HAVE OUR WINNERS!

POSTED: Wednesday, July 7, 2010, 8:08 PM

Filed Under: Movies Film Fest

Pumped for QFest, Philly's all LGBTQ, all the time film fest? We're pumped too, as you'll see by our, if I do say so myself, outstanding cover package tomorrow. But first, we want to hook you up with some tickets to see Nicole Conn's Elena Undone, one of the opening night films. Elena Undone screens tomorrow 7:15 p.m. Here's what QFest's Kelly Burkhardt had to say about it:

If it's taken veteran filmmaker Nicole Conn (Little Man, Claire of the Moon) a few years between making films, then we are very delighted to have waited. Elena Undone starts off with one simple question: Do you believe in soul mates? Elegant and refined Elena (Necar Zadegan, TV's 24 ) is a devoted wife to her pastor husband, mother to her teenage son and daughter to her traditional Indian family. For so many years she has been living her life on autopilot even though she truly is not happy. Grief-stricken lesbian writer Peyton (ravishingly beautiful Traci Dinwiddie, TV's Supernatural) is struggling to move on from recent hardship, but she allows her best friend to drag her out of the house. On one such occasion, the two meet and instantly form an immeasurable bond that shakes the foundation of their sheltered worlds.

So how do you get the tix? Just answer this trivia question by e-mailing molly [dot] eichel [at] citypaper [dot] net. The first two respondents get two tickets: Congrats to Aaron D. and Frank C. for answering correctly.

Elena Undone features the longest kiss scene ever committed to film. How long is it? What movie did it beat out for the honor?

The kiss in Elena Undone is 3:24. It beat out Jane Wyman and Regis Toomey in You're in the Army Now (1941)

Check Critical Mass the rest QFest for more ticket giveaways.

Elena Undone, Thu., July 8, 7:15 p.m., $15 (film)-$50 (film and afterparty); Sat. July 10, 12:15 p.m., $10; Ritz East, 125 S. Second St., qfest.com.

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 8:08 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Philadelphia Film Festival welcomes two new programmers

POSTED: Wednesday, July 7, 2010, 7:17 PM

Filed Under: Movies Film Fest

Give Tom Quinn, of Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing, and Ryan Werner, of IFC, a warm Philly welcome. They've just been added to the ranks as programmers of the Philadelphia Film Festival. They'll join former director of programming, current artistic director Michael Lerman at this year's 19th annual fest, which runs Oct. 14-24. Quinn and Werner previously programmed the Woodstock Film Festival together. Reports indieWire:

"We're thrilled to have Tom and Ryan come aboard as our programmers for the Philadelphia Film Festival," said Andrew Greenblatt, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Film Society. "Both Tom and Ryan have years of experience curating for other great festivals and have built a fantastic reputation through the quality of their programming."

Last year, the Philadelphia Film Society, who puts on the Philadelphia Film Fest, programmed a mini-fest after their break-up with TLA (whose nonprofit arm, the Cinema Alliance, starts up its QFest tomorrow), and a Spring Preview this year to compensate for the cancellation of this year's CineFest (also a Cinema Alliance production). We're pleased with the pedigree. Cheers, dudes, now go put on something awesome.

John V.

Posted 2010-07-07 15:28:26

Nice! But this is a different guy than Tom Quinn *of* Philadelphia, who directed The New Year Parade, yes?

Molly Eichel

Posted 2010-07-07 15:32:47

Hey John V., You're right, they have the same name but they are different film-y folks. Thanks for the clarification.

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 7:17 PM Permalink | Post a comment

INTERVIEW with JOHN C. REILLY: "Most good actors don't consider themselves dramatic actors or comedic actors, they just consider themselves vessels for whatever the character is."

POSTED: Friday, July 2, 2010, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Interview | Movies

Fox Searchlight

John C. Reilly in Cyrus

John C. Reilly's fly is totally open. We're talking about his new movie, Cyrus (read Shaun Brady's review), and my eyes happen to wander down to his crotch-al region, and there I can that see his open button fly. Oh crap, I think. Do I say something? To him? To his publicist? What if my eyes do deceive me and it's not open at all? Cool it, Eichel, this makes total sense: It's John C. Reilly, the consummate Mr. Cellophane, one of the foremost actors to play innocent man-children who just want to lead a good, happy life but hit roadblocks along the way. And that's exactly what Reilly plays in Cyrus. He just wants to date Marisa Tomei's transcendent Molly. It's his first big romantic move after a divorce seven years ago and he's finally found someone who will drunkenly sing the Thompson Twins with him at a party. But there's a problem: Molly's got a 21-year-old son — the title character, played by Jonah Hill — who wants nothing to do with Reilly's affable fuckup. So I let it go. I don't tell John C. Reilly that I think his button fly is open. Because that's the way it should be. City Paper: You've talked about how the movie changed based on your perceptions of your character, which is how I've heard the Duplass brothers work. Do you have any examples of how the movie was changed from the page to what you see on screen? John C. Reilly: The story generally held together in the same way. But it was more like the tone of things. One example is there's a scene early on after [Marisa Tomei and I] have slept together, I invite her to over the house and I cook dinner for her. Originally what was written in the scene is I cook dinner for her and then she comes over two hours later than she said she was going to come over and I'm disappointed. I'm sort of miffed that she's late even though she never said what time she was going to come over. I said, "Guys, this is not the way to have a first date. Even if the person is late, you look the other way." They were like, "Yeah, you're right. This is stupid, why would he be mad?" It became this romantic moment where asks her if she thinks its working and whether we can make a go of it early on. It became one of the first of many vulnerable moments for them. CP: Because the Duplass brothers work on the fly, purposefully keeping their shoots fast and loose, how do you prepare for that? How did that change how you normally work? Especially after you got into the swing of how things were going to move. JR: My only preparation for this movie was feeling, "OK, what do I need to do to prepare today?" And honestly, most of the days, I would feel like I just have to prepare to feel totally unprepared. You just have to kind of get yourself into a good mood and get the creative juices flowing and keep your mind open. Just let go and surrender to the moment and forgive yourself for not being prepared. That was the same way with the directors, too. They would say, "Look, it would feel better for us to say, 'We know exactly what we're doing. Here's what we're going to do today.'" And that's what the crew especially expects from them. What are we doing today? Literally, why have you brought us here? What is it we're going to shoot? A lot of times they would say, "We don't know and we don't want to know. We want to turn the cameras on and discover what's going on between you." Of course, using the script as a guideline and some guidance from us. That really gives the movie the quality that it has. You see us discover these little beats, these moments in real time on camera. CP: So, you're this guy who criticizes Marisa Tomei and her son, but you have a similarly inappropriate relationship with on-screen ex-wife Catherine Keener, because you also leach off of her. Every time this guy has a problem, he runs to his ex-wife. JR: That's true. Everyone in this movie has problems with boundaries, I'd say, but you know, she's not feeding me my lunch with a spoon. That's funny because that's something a lot of people point out. That relationship between you and your ex-wife is not appropriate either. It's not appropriate for her husband, certainly. He's sick of having me around. It's more truthful for a lot of people than you might think. Friends are hard to find, even though you have a different history in your past, you tend to hold on to people. But yeah, it's a little dysfunctional. The cool thing about this movie is that when people do things that are slightly inappropriate or needy, they're doing them from a place of love. Even Jonah's character, who is doing these devious, manipulative things to try to break up me and Marisa, he's doing it because he loves his mother and he's afraid of separating from her. It's a really a interesting movie in that way. There are no evil intentions behind anyone's weird behavior. Everyone is looking for love in one way or another. CP: Branching off your relationship with Jonah in the film, when you played against him in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, it was supposed to be funny; you're expecting the laugh. But in this movie, you laugh at these moments that you never really expect to laugh at. JR: I didn't really worry too much about that. I wasn't thinking, while making Cyrus, "What style of comedy is this?" I wasn't looking at any playback or dailies. I wasn't looking at photographs or anything. I was just trying to be there in the moment. The truth is, most good actors don't consider themselves dramatic actors or comedic actors, they just consider themselves vessels for whatever the character is. So if you really commit yourself to being there in the moment and playing truthfully what is going on in the scene, if the circumstances are ridiculous then you're in a comedy. If the circumstances are more serious, then you're in a dramatic thing. You're not like 'Oh, I know what I'll do! I'll use Gesture #23 — a tried and true comedic gesture!' You're just trying to be honest, you know? And then the comedy kind of takes care of itself itself if its meant to be funny. CP: You have this theater background, where you need to act based on the size of the room. But the Duplass' camera work is all really close. JR: With them, and this was true when I worked with Robert Altman, you kind of forget where the cameras are. You're encouraged to work in this way where you just ignore the camera altogether, which you kind of should anyway. Most movies, if the camera's stationary, you can't just get up and walk around. With Altman and with this movie, the cameras are so free-flowing that you just stop worrying about it. They'll let me know if I'm out of the frame. I just have to keep going and connecting with the character. There's a great kind of joy and freedom in that. You don't have to worry, "Now the camera's on me!" You're just in the place of "Well, I might be on camera right now. I better keep this reality going." It was great with Altman when we did A Prairie Home Companion, it was the same thing. There was six cameras roving around on cranes and you just never knew, so you got to live in this fantasy place about being the character all the time. It was fun. CP: I'm really interested in your next project, We Need to Talk abut Kevin [about the aftermath of a Columbine-style shooting, told via the letters of the perpetrator's mom — played by Tilda Swinton — to his dad — played by Reilly]. I'm gonna go all fangirl on you here because I loved the book and think Lynne Ramsey is straight up incredible. JR: I just finished that. We just wrapped in Connecticut a few weeks ago. It's really good. There's this guy named Ezra Miller, who plays Kevin as a teenager. Lynne struggled for awhile to get the money together, to get it set up. CP: It's not an easy project. JR: No! I said, "Lynn, I'm going to patient waiting for this to come together." You need to find an infant, a toddler, a six-year-old and a teenager. Just finding one kid who's good could take a year. But she did! She found all these kids and they look like the same person growing up. I'm really excited about that movie. I've never worked with a director that decisive before. Part of it was that we didn't have a lot of money so we had to work really tight. I can't tell you how many single takes I did on that movie. She'd be like, "Good! Check the gate!" Without even asking the DP or anybody. She has a real eye of an artist. CP: Was that in direct contrast to what the Duplass brothers were doing? JR: Yeah, it's a totally different style of working. I still improvised a little bit, and tried to give the character a little more emotional depth that was in the book. He's not quite three-dimensional in the book because it's all told through the memories of the mother. CP: I kind of thought he was an asshole in the book. JR: Yeah? Eva comes off as a little rougher. CP: No one really comes off looking good in that book. JR: What makes the movie so beautiful and so sad is that everyone is just trying their best and it's not good enough. I think the movie's going to be kind of a poem to American failure. Especially my character: He just tries and tries and tries to be the optimist with this little boy and he's not happy and he loses the battle to stick with this kid. And he just gives up. It's such a gut punch. It's one of the saddest things I've ever done. It affected me in a really deep way. Because I have kids and there are a lot of days when you feel like you're failing these kids. CP: And that's a huge sign when you've failed a child, when they go on some sort of crazy killing spree. JR: Yeah. Well, or is it? I don't know.

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 2:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Attack of the B-Movie!: Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus at the Academy of Natural Sciences

POSTED: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 7:02 PM

Filed Under: Movies | Museum screening

Says Megashark, "Nom, nom, nom."

Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus is a strikingly ingenuous answer to the question of what would happen if a shark the size of a naval destroyer and an octopus that could cover a city block suddenly awoke from a centuries-long slumber. And then did battle. I know what you're thinking: you didn't ask. But someone did, and this steaming pile of celluloid, starring Debbie Gibson (sorry, Deborah!) and a swarthy-as-ever Lorenzo Lamas is the result. As you'd expect, the made-for-TV flick is good for a whole bunch of belly laughs, and on July 22, the Academy of Natural Sciences will screen it along with their current exhibit Creatures of the Abyss. A ticket will get you admission to both. First explore the veritable horrorshow of real sea monsters in Creatures: bizarre illuminated creatures, fish that eat prey larger than themselves and the ominously-titled Colossal Squid. Then, at 7 p.m., settle in for monsters you'll only see in Hollywood with Mega Shark. Plus, the Academy's Paul Calloman and Jason Poole will provide a running commentary on the film's "scientific veracity." It'll be like Mystery Science Theater, only with smarter hecklers. You can get tickets here. But, try before you buy; the trailer is below:

h/t Geekadelphia

Thu., July 22, 5-9 p.m., $40, The Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-299-1000.

Posted by Eric Henney @ 7:02 PM Permalink | Post a comment

The ladies love Billy from Twilight

POSTED: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 6:20 PM

Filed Under: Movies

lamiastellina.altervista.org

Gil Birmingham

Last night, Meal Ticket maven Drew Lazor and I hit up a King of Prussia sneak peak/reviewer screening of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse because, well, they're totally hilarious. As per usual, we were greeted with the same undying adulation for sparkly vampires and six-packed werewolves. Tweenagers and middle-aged women scream at equal decibels in anticipation of barely legals going shirtless and brooding as hard as they can on screen. (Although, no one broke down and cried this time, like they did at the end of the New Moon, so that was disappointing.) But the most gut-busting part of the evening (other than a sighting of Philebrity's Joey Sweeney, who is probably, like, totally on Team Edward)? When werewolf Jacob's pop, Billy Black, played by Gil Birmingham, appeared onscreen and a small section of the crowd let out a whoop usually reserved for the more spritely characters. So, I'm putting out a call to the Twilight devotees: What gives? Why not Charlie (Billy Burke), who play Bella's father? He's older and studly, in that Miller High Life kind of way. Is it because of his role as ne'er-do-well casino owner Leonard Lobo on much beloved TV show Veronica Mars? That's my guess. But tell me: Why are the ladies getting all hot and bothered about Billy? RELATED >> OMGZ!: Twilight's Jackson Rathbone hits Philly

Posted by Molly Eichel @ 6:20 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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