Interview

CHICAGO – One of the most talked about films this year is the Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey backed “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.” Essential to the film is Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the title character of Precious.

CHICAGO – The Adam Goldberg character is well known to fans of TV’s “Friends” and the movie’s “Saving Private Ryan.” With his heart-on-his-sleeve persona, he takes that character to rarified heights in the new film “(Untitled).”

CHICAGO – The legendary Martin Landau was recently in Chicago with two films in special presentation at The 45th Annual Chicago International Film Festival - the classic “North by Northwest,” also releasing on Blu-Ray tomorrow, November 3rd, 2009, and the new drama “Lovely, Still,” co-starring Ellen Burstyn.

CHICAGO – October 27th is the release date for “Nice Bombs,” a personal documentary from Cinema Obscura DVD about the homecoming of a native Iraqi to his old hometown of Baghdad, still in the midst of the Iraq War.

CHICAGO – In the new coming-of-age film, “An Education,” director Lone Scherfig creates a different time (the early 1960s) and place (middle class England) to tell the story of a teenage girl’s conflict between her academic life and older man lover.

CHICAGO – Film and TV icon Martin Landau accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival in the same hotel he stayed at while filming Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” in 1959.

CHICAGO – “Mississippi Damned,” the feature film winner of the Gold Hugo, the top prize at the Chicago International Film Festival, was a labor of passion for producer Morgan R. Stiff and director/writer Tina Mabry.

CHICAGO – Last Saturday at the Chicago International Film Festival was a very important debut for the new film “Chicago Overcoat,” directed by newcomer Brian Caunter. The hometown audience gave big thumbs up to the gritty mobster film.

CHICAGO – From the looks of things, you’d think “Where the Wild Things Are” director Spike Jonze is more than just Max Records’ director. You’d think Jonze was his 12-year-old star’s father, too.

CHICAGO – Justice is the theme of “Law Abiding Citizen,” a new film starring Jamie Foxx as a district attorney in Philadelphia who is targeted for revenge by a former client (Gerald Butler). Directing the film is veteran F. Gary Gray (”Friday,” “The Italian Job”).