CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on The Eddie Volkman Show with Hannah B on WSSR-FM (Star 96.7 Joliet, Illinois) on January 20th, reviewing the new series reboot “Velma,” created by Mindy Kaling and featuring the Scooby-Doo gang. Currently streaming on HBO Max.
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Preview: Alex Thompson’s ‘Rounding’ at 58th Chicago Intl. Film Fest. Oct. 15 & 16, 2022
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 15, 2022 - 12:08pmCHICAGO – Filmmaker Alex Thompson makes a triumphant return to the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) with his second feature, “Rounding,” screening on October 15th & 16th. CLICK ALEX T for info/tickets.
Via Zoom: Alex Heller’s ‘The Year Between’ at 58th Chicago Intl. Film Fest, Oct. 14 & 16, 2022
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 14, 2022 - 3:05pmCHICAGO – A filmmaker’s feature debut is a special moment, made more special when the debut takes place in the filmmaker’s Chicagoland roots. Ms. Alex Heller screens “The Year Between” at the 58th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) on October 14th (8:30p) and 16th, 2022.
Via Zoom: Filmmaker/Actor Clare Cooney on Her New Short ‘Pick Up’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 16, 2021 - 7:50pmCHICAGO – Although this former Chicago-based actor has moved on to Los Angeles, she continues as a filmmaker with her excellent second short, “Pick Up.” Clare Cooney wrote, directed and is featured in this poignant journey, as two ex-lovers figure out their current status in the midst of the world pandemic.
Via Zoom: Ron Falzone on ‘Coriander and a Penny’s Worth of Lonesome’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 17, 2021 - 5:53pmCHICAGO – In this new golden age of animation, the ability to create mood and setting is more accessible than ever. For creator and writer Ron Falzone (with director Julian Grant), a notable death in the 1920s and the movie business associated with it is in their film “Coriander and a Penny’s Worth of Lonesome.”
Podtalk: Okema 'Seven' Gunn of ‘Black Mama Sable’ at 26th Black Harvest Film Fest
Submitted by PatrickMcD on November 15, 2020 - 10:13amCHICAGO – The 26th edition of Chicago’s Black Harvest Film Festival (BHFF) continues with online and virtual access. One of the short films, in the program “Voices of Our Time,” is writer/director Okema “Seven” Gunn’s “Black Mama Sable.”!—break—>
Podtalk: Christine Marie on ‘Xmas in Lost Pines’ at Chicago’s Prop Thtr, Dec. 6-13, 2019
Submitted by PatrickMcD on December 6, 2019 - 11:24amCHICAGO – Theater art is collaborative, and it’s often the design of a stage that sets the tone for the play that unfolds. The Curious Theatre Branch presents an original holiday play called “Xmas in Lost Pines,” opening Friday, December 6th, 2019 at the Prop Thtr (theatre) on Chicago’s Northwest side, with four performances through December 13th (all 8pm).
Podtalk: Midwest Independent Film Fest Opener is ‘An Acceptable Loss’ on Feb. 5, 2019
Submitted by PatrickMcD on February 4, 2019 - 7:13pmCHICAGO – Some extraordinary local and outside talent coordinated to produce the film “An Acceptable Loss” in 2018, including featured stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Tika Sumpter (“Southside with You”). Producer Colleen Griffen and writer/director Joe Chappelle, who hail from Chicagoland, helped to create this passionate thriller, with echoes of paranoid government oversight films like “All the President’s Men” and the recent “Vice.” The Midwest Independent Film Festival has made “An Acceptable Loss” the kickoff film for their 2019 season. Click here for tickets and details.
Podtalk: Ike Barinholtz, First Time Director for ‘The Oath’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 18, 2018 - 7:59amCHICAGO – The life we have in these “interesting times” is rife with the peril of outside influences… which makes for difficult confrontations with both the known and the unknown. Comic actor Ike Barinholtz (“Blockers”) writes and directs his first film, “The Oath,” dealing with a family Thanksgiving within a Trump-like world.
Film Review: ‘Third Person’ an Intriguing Yet Foreseeable Labyrinth
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 28, 2014 - 7:52amCHICAGO – Don’t you hate it when you figure out where a film is going long before it gets there? That could be a problem with “Third Person,” but writer/director Paul Haggis (“Crash”) also adds enough secrets to chew on and enough multiple pathways to explore. Enter at your own risk.
Interview: Writer/Director Paul Haggis Creates ‘Third Person’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 26, 2014 - 3:39pmCHICAGO – Not many Oscar winning screeenwriters change the course of their professional lives because of a dream (story below), but Paul Haggis is an exceptionally brilliant writer whose credits include “Crash” (2005) and “Million Dollar Baby” (2004) – which both won Best Picture – and his new film, “Third Person.”
